Lesson #2: More to the Story

Canadian and World Studies: History and Visual Art

Trial by Fire

Canada entered the First World War as a colony of Great Britain and emerged as a mature, independent nation. Through the grueling 1914–1918 campaign in Europe, Canadians earned respect and forged a hard–won identity in the eyes of countries around the world.

Though the cost was horrible, many historians suggest that the Great War marks Canada’s coming of age.

The Whole Story: Grain, Industry, and Art

In fact, the whole story of Canada’s maturing and success before, during, and after the war includes many more people, a greater number of events, and a broader geography than just the battlefields of Belgium and France.

One of Canada’s most important contributions to the First World War was materials, especially food. For a long time, Canadians had expertly harnessed natural resources and transported them using a well-established network of transcontinental rail lines and maritime harbours. We grew and harvested many thousands of tons of food, exploited our forest and mineral riches, enlisted more than 600,000 people, manufactured great quantities of munitions, and shipped them all across the ocean to aid the allied struggle.

Convoy at Sea, created by Group of Seven member Arthur Lismer, shows in minute detail the massive effort to marshall ships and send them off to Europe together, protected by the navy.

Art and Remembrance

In 1916, Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rothermere established the Canadian War Memorials Fund, sponsored by the Canadian War Records Office. Its revolutionary program was to commission artists to record war scenes, both on the battlefield and at home. The first war art program in the modern world, it hired more than 60 artists to document wartime sacrifice.

Future Group of Seven artists Fredrick Varley and A.Y. Jackson were already overseas when they were assigned to record front-line action, while Arthur Lismer became one of the first war artists to document scenes from Halifax such as Convoy at Sea.

The Canadian Cultural History Project

Explore the six Waddington Adventures and the six McMichael Stories in FootPrints. Listen, read, record, and research an artist, a location, a historical event, or a person. Then get involved. Use this website to share what you’ve learned and inspire others to join you in making Canadian cultural history.

Use your cellphone, your computer, your camera, or your digital recorder. Document and post your own Waddington Cultural History Project on the Students’, Teachers’ and Scholars’ Forum.

Be extraordinary. Get involved. Make history.

For Teachers

This FootPrints assignment can be used to support curricular objectives in History and Visual Arts. In Ontario, it specifically supports the following study units and expectations:

Canadian History in the Twentieth Century, Grade 10

Unit: Communities: Local, National, and Global

Overall Expectation:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which outside forces and events have shaped Canada’s policies

2. Demonstrate an understanding of Canada’s participation in war, peace, and security

Specific Expectations:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of how artistic expression reflects the Canadian identity

2. Evaluate the influence of Great Britain and Europe on Canadian policies from 1900 to the present

3. Demonstrate a knowledge of Canada’s military contributions in World War I

4. Evaluate Canada’s role in the Allied victories of World War I

Visual Arts, Grade 9

Unit: Analysis

Overall Expectations:

1. Explain, through critical analysis, the function (e.g., political, religious, social) of their own artworks and those of other cultures

2. Demonstrate an understanding of connections between art and cultural identity or context

Specific Expectations:

1. Use critical analysis to examine expression in student and professional artworks

2. Explain how artistic intentions are expressed in specific examples of historical and student artworks

3. Describe how art can imitate life