This beautifully illustrated book documents the life and work of David Milne (1882-1953), one of Canada's greatest modern painters whose vast body of work shows him to be an artist of true originality and vision. Like the members of the Group of Seven, Milne primarily chose landscape as his subject matter. However, his true subject was the process of perception and representation, reducing his painting to its essentials and infusing it with his own distinctive modern sensibility. The book presents an account of one man's spiritual and emotional voyage into modernity - from the bustling sidewalks of New York to the war-torn landscapes of northern France and back to rural Canada. With more than one hundred works in oil and watercolour, this publication provides an appreciation of one of Canada's most sophisticated modern painters.

Sarah Milroy is a Toronto writer and art critic. She served as editor and publisher of Canadian Art magazine (1991-96) and as art critic of the Globe and Mail (2001-10). Milroy has contributed to publications on the work of Gathie Falk, Jack Chambers, Greg Curnoe and Fred Herzog, and is a regular contributor to Canadian Art, Border Crossings and The Walrus.

Sarah Milroy's profile page

Ian A.C. Dejardin is an art historian and executive director of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

Ian A.C. Dejardin's profile page