, 2008. Fibreglass stone and airplane. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 2011. Photo © Roman März](/images/content/menuSeeGallery.png)
Benjamin West
The Death of General Wolfe (Detail), 1770
oil on canvas
152.6 x 214.5 cm
Transfer from the Canadian War Memorials, 1921 (Gift of the 2nd Duke of Westminster, England, 1918)
National Gallery of Canada (no. 8007)
Collections
Enlarge image
The Unexplained, 1989
Carl Beam
Canadian, 1943
- 2005
photo emulsion, mixed media on canvas
213.4 x 152.4 cm
Purchased 2007
National Gallery of Canada (no. 42025)
The Greek lettering at top translates as "the words omitted." The two Apache gan dancers are the human physical manifestation of mountain spirits, while the figures beneath come from the 15th-century French painting "The Pieta of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon". Equal weight is given to these images of Christian and Aboriginal spirituality through their juxtaposition. They become the "unexplained" of the title, a reference to Beam's belief in the importance of ambiguity.
Categories
Audioguide
No Audio
Media
No Media
Library and Archives
Extras
No Extras
Time Warp
Gan Dancers
The Problematical Theoretical
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
YouTube
