"Twenty-seven contributors--artists, cultural professionals, scholars, a journalist, grantmakers--were asked this question: 'Are the arts essential?' In response, they offer deep and challenging answers applying the lenses of the arts, and those of the sciences, the humanities, public policy, and philanthropy. Playing so many parts, situated in so many places, these writers illustrate the ubiquity of the arts and culture in the United States. They draw from the performing arts and the visual arts, from poetry and literature, and from culture in our everyday lived experiences. The arts, they remind readers, are everywhere, and--in one way and another--touch everyone"--

With its dramatic landscapes and rugged beauty, Alberta's Bow River valley has inspired generations of artists. The Painted Valley : Artists Along Alberta's Bow River, 1845-2000 brings together a collection of works by local and visiting artists from 1845 to 2000 that captures the many moods of the river and its valley from its source high in the Rocky Mountains down to the city of Calgary and eastward across the open prairie.Christopher Armstrong and H.V. Nelles have selected works from a number of Alberta museums and national collections, which depict the Bow River and its valley, representing a broad array of historical periods, artistic styles, and points of view. From European topographers and military artists to painters commissioned by the Canadian Pacific Railway, from the Group of Seven to modernism and abstraction, these pictures of the Bow valley tell us much about changing attitudes toward nature and the environment as well as the evolution of an artistic community in western Canada.

Storm Chaser presents 80 of Ian Sheldon's vibrant, highly dramatic storm paintings. His works speak of a connection to the land and sky of the prairies, but more than that, they draw us into the experience of that seemingly infinite region. His portraits of the prairie's subtle lands and tumultuous storms capture the spirit of place that is so integral to a life surrounded by the vastness of an unending sky. Ian's storm paintings, in their complexity of colour, texture, light and shadow, serve as the centrepiece to Storm Chaser, but by combining them with his own captivating writing and selected excerpts from other exceptional writers and poets, Ian offers us a layered book that is a paean to the joy and beauty of living on the prairie. Now sit back, breathe, and let yourself be drawn into Ian Sheldon's world of wind, grass, sky and spirit.

Identifies and summarizes thousands of books, article, exhibition catalogues, government publications, and theses published in many countries and in several languages from the early nineteenth century to 1981.

Canada: A Poetic Landscape is a well-considered, joy-filled journey into the vast splendour of the Canadian landscape, its history and heritage, crafted through the lens of an artist turned poet. Experience every province and territory, the book imparts lesser-known information about Canada through colourful, detailed, and whimsical paintings alongside culturally themed stories expressed in verse. From totem poles and inukshuks to the fur trade and the gold rush, from cottage country and maple syrup to high tides and sculptured rocks, from a long history of war to the land cradled on the waves, this book is rich with the uniqueness of each province and territory. Canada: A Poetic Landscape offers an alternative or addition to the map-colouring and memorization of provinces taught in most schools, and provides a more comprehensive understanding of geography and history. Written primarily for children aged ten years and older, this book will inspire readers, young and old, to want to learn more about and experience more of Canada.

Bateman journeys across all seven regions of Canada, and his art reflects the intrinsically Canadian beauty of the country. The paintings celebrate the history, diversity, and natural wonder. In the introductory comments for each section, Bateman explains how the land has captivated him, as an artist and as a nature lover, for decades