In this Director’s Choice essay, Sarah Milroy explores David Milne’s Passing Car, 1913, a vibrant depiction of modern New York painted at the height of the artist’s early career. The article considers Milne’s innovative painterly language, his complicated relationship with urban life, and the lasting significance of this rare surviving city scene in the McMichael collection.
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Melanie Authier, Venture Myth, 2023
May 7, 2026Melanie Authier’s dynamic abstract paintings create immersive spaces charged with movement, light, and shifting sensation. Highlighting a recent acquisition to the McMichael’s collection, this article explores how Authier transforms memory, atmosphere, and the language of painting into richly layered contemporary abstraction.
Artist Spotlight: Bess Larkin Housser Harris
May 7, 2026The paintings of Bess Harris capture the spirit of the landscape through a vivid, intuitive approach shaped outside formal academic training. An artist, writer, and critic deeply embedded in Canada’s modernist art community, she made significant yet often overlooked contributions to Canadian art history.
Excerpt from Uses of Enchantment
May 7, 2026Marking the third anniversary of Uses of Enchantment: Art and Environmentalism, this article revisits Shary Boyle’s haunting explorations of apocalypse, fantasy, and environmental anxiety. Featuring an excerpt by writer Ruth Jones, it examines how Boyle’s imaginative works reflect contemporary fears surrounding climate change and ecological collapse.
Aaron Jones, Lithic, 2026
April 1, 2026A newly installed work by Toronto artist Aaron Jones transforms the Grand Hall—discover how Lithic layers image, material, and meaning to explore identity, resilience, and the search for grounding.
Kenojuak Ashevak at the McMichael
March 12, 2026Look back at the McMichael’s history with the renowned artist Kenojuak Ashevak and her time spent at the gallery.
Stan Douglas: Tales of Empire
March 4, 2026With Stan Douglas: Tales of Empire, the McMichael presents a focused survey of the artist’s work, bringing together key projects that relate to the enduring impositions and contradictions of empire.
Director’s Choice: Tom Thomson
March 4, 2026Tom Thomson’s sketch and canvas depicting Algonquin Park during the spring thaw are among the most prized holdings of the McMichael.
Close to Home
February 1, 2026Close to Home brings together paintings, drawings, and prints by the Group of Seven and related artists, all inspired by the landscapes of Southern Ontario.
Director’s Choice: Lucy Qinnuayuak
January 5, 2026One of the pleasures of exploring the Kinngait Drawings Archive is discovering works by artists who may not have the household name recognition they deserve. Lucy Qinnuayuak (1915–1982) is one such artist.
Kent Monkman, Compositional Study for “tâpwêwin (Truth),” 2025
December 23, 2025Kent Monkman (b. 1965) is a leading Cree visual artist from Fisher River Cree Nation in Treaty 5 Territory, Manitoba, and is currently based in Toronto. Compositional Study for "tâpwêwin (Truth)," 2025, is part of Monkman’s new Knowledge Keeper series, a body of work examining the history and enduring impact of Canada’s residential school system.