Canoe: A Collection of Canadian Art

A tribute to the iconic watercraft—an enduring symbol of national identity—as depicted through 200 years of Canadian art.

With its origins in commerce and Indigenous culture, and its status as a modern cultural emblem, the canoe serves as a link between Canada’s rugged history and its contemporary character. Its humble and elegant form has long inspired artists to illustrate its journeys through waterways past and present, building a rich visual archive of the role the canoe played in shaping our nation and defining our spirit.

The McCreath Canoe Collection, catalogued in this beautifully designed volume, spans 200 years of artistic output, encompassing 90 works from all provinces and territories (except the Yukon Territory) and covering all three Canadian coasts. Canoe showcases paintings, sculpture, prints, carvings, glass, ceramics, and birch bark canoes by 50 historical and contemporary artists, including such luminaries as Alex Colville, David Milne, Cornelius Krieghoff, Frances Anne Hopkins, Ernest Lindner, Illingworth Kerr, and Walter Phillips. Each full-colour image is accompanied by thoughtful commentary about the work and artist.

Canoe celebrates the vessel that has come to occupy a unique and shifting place in our national imagination, and that persists as a symbol of artistic inspiration and environmental connection.

Selected works from the McCreath collection will be exhibited at the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario in 2026–27.

Anne Ewen is a curator, consultant, and author of numerous catalogues, books, and articles. She has curated numerous exhibitions for a host of institutions including the Glenbow Museum, the Art Gallery of Calgary, and the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. She has also taught museum courses at the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge. She is the recipient of many awards and honours including Honorary Member of the Alberta Society of Artists, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, the Government of Alberta Centennial Medal, and the Alberta Museums Association’s Award of Merit and Outstanding Service Award. She lives in Banff, Alberta.

Rod Green is an art dealer, collector, and the former president of Masters Gallery, one of North America’s preeminent art dealers. He served on several committees at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, and was appointed to the Museum’s Board of Governors 1997–2016. He was inducted as a Fellow of the Glenbow Museum in 2016. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, where he also serves as Chair of the Collections Committee. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Alberta Centennial Medal, the Calgary Mayor’s award for Sustaining Support of the Arts in Calgary, and the Eric Harvie Glenbow Award. During his tenure Masters Gallery was awarded the Honens Honours and the Calgary Generosity of Spirit Award. He lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Grit McCreath has been an educator, teacher, teacher-librarian, and administrator for over 30 years in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Alberta. She has taught all grades from kindergarten to Grade 12 in both public and private schools. For the last twenty years she has served her university as a member of the University of Saskatchewan’s Senate, Board of Governors, its first Honorary Ambassador and most recently serving two terms as the Chancellor. She has served on numerous community boards including the Famous 5 Foundation, the Calgary YWCA as chair, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, and RESOLVE Calgary. She has received a number of honours from the Conference Board of Canada, the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award. She and her husband Scott are the proud parents of sons, Andy and James, their daughters-in-law Camille and Amber, along with four grandsons—Henry, Jack, Eddie, and Max—a new generation of canoeists!

Scott McCreath retired in 2024 from a 55-year career in the financial service business. He has served on the Board of the Investment Dealers Association, was chairman of the Alberta Stock Exchange, and was the recipient of numerous corporate and industry awards. Raised and educated in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he left the province in 1970 but never forgot his roots.

Through their family foundation, he and his wife Grit support the environment, the arts, education, and their community. Scott is an executive in residence at the University of Saskatchewan Edwards School of Business, on the Dean’s Advisory Board, and a member of the Dean’s Circle. He received the university’s Alumni of Distinction Award in 2014. Scott is also a board member of the Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health. An avid outdoorsman, he has assembled a canoe collection that reflects his and his wife Grit’s passion for the arts, artists, and art institutions.