Historical watercolour painting by Emily Carr acquired by Whistler’s Audain Art Museum
Unveiled at Heffel Fine Art Auction House, War Canoes, Alert Bay, circa 1908, was held for many years in private collections

Emily Carr (1871-1945), War Canoes, Alert Bay, circa 1908, watercolour on paper, Audain Art Museum collection, Acquired with funds from Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa.
AUDAIN ART MUSEUM has acquired a historical watercolour painting by revered British Columbia artist Emily Carr. War Canoes, Alert Bay, created circa 1908, was held for many years in private collections.
Unveiled at the Heffel Fine Art Auction House on October 16, it was paired with an iconic oil on canvas of the same name from 1912 from the Whistler museum’s permanent collection, signifying the reunion of two closely related Carr masterworks.
The newly acquired watercolour features a scene with three dugout canoes in the foreground, each bearing distinctive Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw-inspired imagery. The work exemplifies Carr’s early traditional style and features the sombre light of the Northwest Coast, with a hillside and trees in the background.
Likely first shown in Vancouver in 1913, the watercolour has since been featured in every major exhibition of Carr’s work to date, including the Audain Art Museum’s 2019 show, Fresh Seeing, which explored a transformational period of her career.

Emily Carr (1871-1945), War Canoes, Alert Bay, 1912, oil on canvas, Audain Art Museum collection, Gift of Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa.
Carr studied in France from 1910 to 1911 and was deeply influenced by her exposure to Post-Impressionism and Fauvism abroad. This pivotal period inspired a departure from the conservative art traditions she had previously gleaned in England and the United States. Upon her return home, Carr reworked the watercolour’s scene into her larger-scale 1912 oil painting, incorporating the vigorous visual language and “new way of seeing” she had cultivated in France. Her expressive use of bold colour and vivid brushwork was unconventional for its time.
Despite her current prominence, Carr struggled to gain critical acceptance as an artist throughout her lifetime. In 2000, the oil-on-canvas War Canoes, Alert Bay became the first work by a Canadian female painter to sell for over a million dollars at auction, setting a monumental record and establishing a clear marker of Carr’s impact on Canadian art.
Both masterpieces will be on display at the Audain Art Museum beginning October 17.
Gail Johnson is cofounder and associate editor of Stir. She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.
Related Articles
Vancouver Chamber Choir concert features some of the Italian virtuoso’s most enduring Renaissance music
Fast-paced feminist adventure follows three coworkers who rebel against their boss
In musical travels from rock and electronica to folk and blues, the roving artist has followed her curiosity and intuition beyond industry-drawn boundaries
Event marks 10th anniversary with more than 250 singers, $5 TD Community Roar Tickets, and a world premiere from Marie-Claire Saindon
B.C. surf-rockers Empanadas Ilegales, powerhouse Australian vocalist Lloyd Spiegel, and more will perform at the Fraser River Heritage Park from July 25 to 27
As part of Music on Main series, the Mexican Canadian composer’s luminous works respond to current chaos and ancient ties to the natural world
Joan Blackman shares the stage with eight all-star musicians for a program of works by Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert
Most decorated female Latin Grammy winner in history and mind behind the beloved Chief Inspector Gamache series will appear in Vancouver this fall
Coastal Jazz also announced the second year of the New Improvisers Studio
Summer concerts return to Vancouver parks, plus the new year includes Steve Hackman’s epic synthesis of Radiohead’s seminal OK Computer with Brahms’s First Symphony
Vancouver concert is nearly sold out, but great seats are still up for grabs in Surrey
Also on the program at Holy Rosary Cathedral is Benevoli’s Missa Tu Es Petrus
Raised on bluegrass and the warmth of her Bowen Island community, the Montreal-based folksinger comes full circle with songs about close emotional bonds
Vancouver Bach Family of Choirs presents the emotional composition with text by English soldier and war poet Wilfred Owen
Formed by a pair of musical duos, the group blends jazz, tango, African, classical, and more through mutual trust and constant curiosity
In her vibrant new show, the Vancouver singer illuminates and performs the timeless, barrier-breaking music that built Berry Gordy’s sonic empire
Set of antique and newly composed music by Hyeronimus Kapsberger and Claudio Ambrosini evokes the sounds of Venice
The Smithers, B.C.-based artist brings his articulate blend of soul, funk, jazz, and pop sounds to Vancouver
Artists hitting the Performance Works stage include New Jazz Underground, Nubya Garcia, and more
Friends of Chamber Music program features works by Barber, Bartók, and Shostakovich with unique historical relevance
Look forward to tales of hanging in Greenwich Village and Laurel Canyon with the likes of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen
Adaptation of the original Broadway production journeys through different eras of the Man in Black’s life and music
Award-winning New York-based string players to perform works by Mozart, Beethoven, and American composer Billy Childs
French choreographer Hubert Hazebroucq performs 15th- and 16th-century dances to the sound of a live wind band
For this UBC Opera and Opera West collaboration, emerging stars take the lead in a classic story with a long history of fame and scandal
Group’s founder and artistic director Masa Ogawa talks compassion and connection ahead of Chan Centre presentation
The choral singer, composer, and musician will succeed long-time head and cofounder Morna Edmundson
Performances by Bakara Band, violinist Suzka Mares, and vocalist Andrea Superstein are in store at David Lam Park and beyond
Russian virtuoso’s passion for pianoforte revives original voice of such legendary 19th-century composers as Beethoven and Mendelssohn
Hailing from distant musical worlds, the group’s members honour tradition while seeking connection through cross-cultural experiment