The Art of War

The Canadian War Museum’s Canvas of War, which toured the country throughout 2000–01, was the largest exhibition of Canadian war art ever organized. It featured the work of some of our best artists, including members of the celebrated Group of Seven, who had witnessed the slaughter of the thousands of young men who had fought in two world wars. The painter Frederick Varley, for example, had seen the undeterred heroism, immense sacrifice, and unimaginable losses of the “war to end all wars” at first hand. “We are forever tainted with its abortiveness and its cruel drama,” he said of the front, “and for the life of me I don’t know how that can help progression. It is foul and smelly — and heartbreaking.”

An important book accompanied Canvas of War. While it featured only a small portion of the 13,000 paintings, drawings, and sculptures held in the museum’s...