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.
Close to Home brings together paintings, drawings, and prints by the Group of Seven and related artists, all inspired by the landscapes of Southern Ontario.
One 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 (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.
Last year at Art Toronto we acquired Aanzinaago (Caught in a Transformation) 01, 2024, by Native Art Department International (NADI), for the collection at the McMichael. NADI is a collaborative long-term project created and administered by the Ojibwe Anishinaabe performance artist, sculptor, and mixed-media artist Maria Hupfield (b. 1975) and the Chiricahua Apache and Mexican multimedia artist Jason Lujan (b. 1971).
Two Caribou, 2008–2009, by Kananginak Pootoogook (1935–2010), is a rich example of contemporary drawing from Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset), Nunavut, depicting two bull caribou locked in battle, perhaps over a mate. Hooves fly and antlers clash, lending a sense of immediacy to the conflict.
Back in 2021, the McMichael teamed up with the Koerner Foundation and the acclaimed Canadian filmmaker David Hartman to create a series of short documentaries that pull back the curtain on the lives and practices of some of Canada’s most celebrated contemporary artists represented in the McMichael’s collection. Each film offers an intimate glimpse into their studios and landscapes, inviting us to listen as they share stories of creativity, process, and the inspirations that shape their work.