Just as Canada is often overlooked or undervalued within the international art world, the province of Alberta has struggled against being overlooked within the national context, despite its rich art history and vigorous and ever-changing art scene. Alberta Art and Artists, by former vice-president of collections at the Glenbow Museum Patricia Ainslie and art critic and journalist Mary-Beth Laviolette, provides a comprehensive visual record of the historical, modern, and contemporary art scene in Alberta.

Throughout three sections, Ainslie and Laviolette provide introductions to the art they describe, explaining beginnings and development of movements, art schools, sketch clubs, galleries, and artist-run centres; the significance of artists and teachers to those institutions and movements; and the importance of social and political context to all artistic events. Also included in this fantastic volume are the biographies of each of the artists showcased.

Patricia Ainslie lived in Africa, Iran, and England before settling in Alberta in 1977 and becoming a curator at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. After organizing a variety of exhibitions by artists such as Margaret Shelton, Cecil Buller, Laurence Hyde,H.G.Glyde, and Jack Shadbolt, Ainslie became vice-president of collections at the Glenbow in 1993 and continued to write, maintain the Glenbow's collections, and work on innovative museological projects. She retired in 2006 and now lives in Kelowna.

Patricia Ainslie's profile page

Mary-Beth Laviolette is an avid hiker and independent art writer and curator based in Canmore, Alberta, who specializes in Albertan and Western Canadian art. She is the author of A Delicate Art: Artists, Wildflowers and Native Plants of the West and An Alberta Art Chronicle: Adventures in Recent & Contemporary Art, 1970–2000, and co-author of Alberta Art & Artists: A Survey. Recent exhibitions she has curated include Reckonings: Michael Cameron & Karen Maiolo (Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff); Pulse: Alberta Society of Artists at 80 Years (Triangle Gallery of Visual Arts, Calgary) and Alberta Mistresses of the Modern: 1935 to 1975 (Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton). Mary-Beth is also a public speaker and enjoys engaging with the public about art whenever and wherever possible.

Mary-Beth Laviolette's profile page

"Alberta Art and Artists is the latest in a growing number of books on the topic - and proves, in case there was any doubt, that this province has a vibrant history of creative activity. It will delight art historians and newcomers to the subject alike. . . It is a remarkable contribution to the world of art history, and a welcome addition to our understanding of Alberta art."
— Alberta Views