Exhibitions
Bev Tosh: War Brides
December 17, 2011 - April 1, 2012 at The Prairie Art Gallery
More than 44,000 British and European women came to Canada as the wives of Canadian service personnel at the end of the Second World War, accompanied by 22,000 children from these marriages. The story of her war bride mother inspired artist Bev Tosh to paint a striking portrait, which is one of the key works in the War Brides exhibition. That first portrait led Tosh on an odyssey to meet, interview or correspond with nearly one thousand war brides. The resulting exhibition, War Brides, contains six major groupings of paintings and multimedia installations based on the war brides’ stories of romance, adventure, and personal journeys.
Eighty-eight nearly life-sized portraits form two installations called “bride ships”— referring to the 60 vessels that transported the women from Britain, mainly, but also from Holland, Italy, Belgium and France. Incorporating photographs, projections, parachutes, hatpins, and other materials, the works portray these women as they took a leap of faith in beginning their journey to Canada. (www.warbrides.com)
This exhibition includes new portraits presented here for the first time.
Successful Valentine’s Tea (February 11, 2012)
The Prairie Art Gallery hosted a Valentine’s Tea to celebrate the current exhibition, War Brides, by Calgary-based artist Bev Tosh. The Tea was a highly successful event and the Gallery was happy to welcome over 200 guests on Saturday, February 11, 2012 including 8 Peace Region war brides. Read more and view photos...
Thank You For Visiting War Brides Exhibit (April 2, 2012)
Thank you to all of the visitors who visited the gallery during Calgary artist Bev Tosh’s exhibition, War Brides between December 17, 2011 – April 1, 2012. We’ve welcomed over 3,000 visitors through our doors to see the exhibition and we have enjoyed hearing your stories. We would also like to thank over 400 visitors that shared their thoughts by commenting in our guest book. Your words are appreciated and will be shared with the artist.