Art & Paintings On Stamps

Vasily Surikov again. The Boyarynia Morozova.
(1887. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia).

The West Wind by Thomas John Thomson. Issued May 3, 1990. Scott 1271

Thomson painted the oil on canvas during the winter of 1916-1917. He based the painting on a slightly different sketch created while working as a park ranger in Algonquin Park during the summer of 1916.

Described by A.Y. Jackson as one of the three finest paintings ever done in Canada, The West Wind is considered the spirit of Canada manifest in a picture. It is the creation of an image which bears a powerful message of the forces of nature. Despite the title, the painting is a portrait of two twisted Red Pine trees. They provide the observer an easy access to the painting's wind swept distance and help humanize the cold, scudding cloud and caps of forbidding water.



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The fourth stamp in the continuing series on Masterpieces of Canadian Art, issued on May 7, 1991, honours one of Canada's most popular and prolific female artists, Emily Carr. The stamp depicts one of her best forest landscapes, "Forest, British Columbia". An oil on canvas, 129.5 x 86.4 cm, it is currently owned by the Vancouver Art Gallery. In this painting Carr conveys the forest's solemn splendour and towering strength, while the eye is led past trees that appear to expand and grow into the sanctuary-like space beyond. Emily Carr spent most of her life in Victoria, British Columbia, where she was born on December 13, 1871 and died on March 2, 1945. After an unhappy upbringing by her older sisters following her parents deaths, she switched from collecting a menagerie of wildlife to painting - and found her ultimate release. Impressed and encouraged by Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris, she began painting forest landscapes in earnest in 1928, and after 1932 had entirely replaced West Coast Indian subjects with nature themes. The painting on this stamp issue is one of the early pieces in this phase of her artistic career. The stamp was designed by Montreal graphic designer Pierre-Yves Pelletier, who used the same general design and miniature sheet format as utilized for the previous stamps in the Masterpieces series.

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Here is an image of a stamp depicting a female dancer, designed after a detail from Merrymaking Under Blossoming Trees, a 17th century screen painted by Japanese artist Kano Naganobu (1577–1654), printed by photogravure, and issued by Japan on April 20, 1962, Scott No. 757, plus an image of the entire screen (the dancer on the stamp is located in the center of the painting).

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Here is an image of a stamp depicting Black Lake (1904), a painting by Czech artist Jan Preisler (1872-1918), engraved by Josef Hercík, and issued by Czechoslovakia on November 29, 1968, Scott No. 1590.

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Charles M Russell, "artist of the old American west"

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Red Nasturtiums painted by David Milne in 1937 from the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. Issued June 29, 1992, Scott 1419

One of the masters of Surrealism : the Belgian artist René Magritte (1898-1967)

Renowned Inuk artist Kenojuak Ashevak who passed away January 8, 2013 at her home in Cape Dorset, Nunavut (formerly part of The Northwest Territories)was born in 1927 and led a nomadic life around Baffin island before settling in Cape Dorset. Kenojuak Ashevak was the last surviving member of the Cape Dorset arts co-operative.



The Return of the Sun (stonecut 1961) Kenojuak Ashevak (in 1980 for the Inuit series), Scott 867


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The Enchanted Owl (stonecut 1960) in 1970 for the Centennial of The Northwest Territories, Scott506
and another Owl (drawing 1969) for the 1993 series of Masterpieces of Canadian Art, Scott 1466

"The Beauty of Palmyra" is a limestone bust showing a strong Indian influence, c. A.D 190-210, which originally had glass inlays in the eyes and jewels to accentuate the painted surfaces. Here is an image of an airmail stamp depicting this sculpture, printed by lithography, and issued by Syria on December 11, 1961, Scott No. C256.

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Vera by Frederick Varley. Issued May 6, 1994, Scott 1516.

Frederick H. Varley came to Canada in 1912 on the advice of friend and fellow-painter Arthur Lismer. Both were raised in the same English town, studied at the same Académie in Belgium, and became commercial artist for Grip Limited in Toronto. Together with J.E.H. Mac Donald and Franklin Carmichael, the four made a commitment to paint northern landscapes. Later, they joined A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston and Lawren Harris to form the Group of Seven.

One of his best portraits, the subject of this stamp, was painted while Varley was in Vancouver. Entitled Vera, the 61 x 50.8 cm oil on canvas, is housed at the National Gallery of Canada, a 1968 bequest by Vincent Massey.

Here are images of the three semi-postal (charity) stamps in a set designed and engraved by Jules Piel after works of art by various French artists in the collection of the Musée d'Alger (now called the Musée national des beaux-arts d'Alger), and issued for use in the then French colony of Algeria on November 30, 1957 to benefit the Army Welfare Fund, Scott Nos. B91-B93.

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"Horseman Crossing Ford," by Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863).


"On the Banks of the Oued," by landscape painter Eugène Fromentin (1820-1876).


Detail from "Moorish Dancers," by Romantic painter Théodore Chassériau (1819-1856).

The eighth stamp dedicated to the Masterpieces of Canadian Art series highlights a reproduction of the colourful Floraison (Blossoming), an oil on canvas by celebrated painter Alfred Pellan.

Although Floraison was completed circa 1950, it became an individual painting only in 1956.

Originally, Floraison was a part of a larger work called Scherzo which was last exhibited at the Musée national d'art moderne in Paris in 1955. After that exhibit, Pellan decided to split the painting in two. Scherzo became Fabrique de fleurs magiques and Floraison. This type of painting is known as diptych.

Floraison was acquired by National Gallery of Canada in 1960.

Issued April 12, 1995. Scott 1545

Here is an image of a stamp designed by E. Finke after a wood carving of Jesus Christ and his disciple John, c. 1320, by an unknown sculptor, engraved by Egon Falz, and issued by Germany (Berlin) on July 19, 1967, Scott No. 9N261, Michel No. 308, plus a photo of the sculpture.

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Collectors who have been following trends in Canadian art over the past two decades will be well aware of Haida artist Bill Reid, now considered one of Canada's finest sculptors and most important living artists. Reid's magnificent sculpture, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, has been chosen as the artwork for the ninth stamp in Canada Post Corporation's Masterpieces of Canadian Art series.

Massive, overwhelming and rich with meaning, Reid's black bronze sculpture features a fantastic canoe-bound collection of half-human, half-animal figures from Haida spiritual beliefs.

The five tonne sculpture was installed at the Canadian embassy in Washington in 1991. It is so big that it had to be lifted by crane in order to be lowered down through a smokehole into a pool of water. The work is so impressive that a plaster cast of the sculpture is also prominently displayed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec, and a replica was commissioned for Vancouver Airport's International Terminal.

Issued April 30, 1996, Scott 1602