The Forest LoverIt was Emily Carr (1871 ;1945) ;not Georgia O'Keeffe or Frida Kahlo ;who first blazed a path for modern women artists. Overcoming the confines of late Victorian culture, Carr became a major force in modern art. Her boldly original landscapes are praised today for capturing an untamed British Columbia ;and its indigenous peoples ;just before industrialization would change it forever. In her latest novel, Susan Vreeland brings to life this fiercely independent and underappreciated figure. From illegal potlatches in tribal communities to prewar Paris, where her art was exhibited in the famed Salon d'Automne, Carr's story is as arresting as it is vibrant. Vreeland tells it with gusto and suspense, giving vivid portraits of Carr and the unconventional people to whom she was inevitably drawn: Sophie, a native basket maker; Harold, the son of missionaries, who embraces indigenous cultures; Fanny, a New Zealand artist who spends a summer with Carr painting in the French countryside; and Claude, a French fur trader who steals her heart. The result is a glorious novel that will appeal to lovers of art, native cultures, and lush historical fiction. |
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Alert Bay Alice Alice's Annie Marie arms baby bark basket beach beak bighouses Billy Billy dog Billy's blanket boat breath British Columbia brush canoe carved cedar cheeks Claude color dance Dede Dede's door drum Dzunukwa Eagle Emily asked Emily Carr Emily felt Emily's everything eyes face feel fingers fish forest Frances front Gitksan green Haida Haida Gwaii hair hand Harold Cook head Indian Jessica Jimmy Jimmy Frank Kispiox Kitwancool Kitwanga Kwakwaka'wakw laughed Lawren Harris leaned legs lips live Lizzie Lizzie's looked Lulu Mamalilikala mouth Muldo nodded nose opened paint potlatch pulled rain Raven salmon Sarah shoes shook shoulders sisters Skeena River skirt smile Songhees Sophie Sophie's spirit Squamish stood stopped stroke talk tell things Tillie Tlingit told took totem poles trees turned Vancouver village voice walked watched watercolor What's woman wood