Robert Amos

Painting Victoria is a loving tribute to a storied city from one of its most dedicated living artists, Robert Amos, and makes a wonderful gift for enthusiastic locals and new visitors alike. When he first came to Victoria in 1974, local artist and art historian Robert Amos was enchanted. In Painting Victoria, he collects decades of paintings done almost entirely on location into a sweeping artistic love letter that spans fifty years. Painting Victoria roves from the sparkling waters of Cadboro Bay to the industrial relics of the Albion Iron Works, with stops among the boats of the Inner Harbour, the neon lights of Chinatown, and the tranquil paths of Japanese Gardens. Inspired by the local painters and printmakers that came before him, Amos paints and sketches Victoria’s waterways and boats, famous gardens, breathtaking ocean and mountain views, heritage buildings, and unsung corners in a whimsical style and with a keen eye for the unique character of the city. Featuring paintings from numerous art collections, including the City of Victoria, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, and the University of Victoria, and the artist's personal collection, join the Victoria Times Colonist’s art columnist of thirty years in a journey across the city. From the riotous colours of a summer parade, to captivating snapshots of the fireworks at Butchart Gardens, to quiet quotidian scenes at the Carr House, discover Victoria through an artist's eyes.

"This book features work from every facet of a career that saw the Vancouver native . . . reach lofty heights in the Canadian art world." --Times Columnist Now available in paperback, this retrospective on one of BC's most famous artists features beautifully reproduced landscape paintings from all over mainland BC, and unveils photographs, sketches, and ephemera from the artist's estate. E. J. Hughes (1913-2007) is British Columbia's best-loved landscape painter. His lavish, picturesque views of the province are appreciated by art professionals and the public alike. Following the success of his previous volume, E. J. Hughes Paints Vancouver Island, author and artist Robert Amos tracks the footsteps of Hughes as he travelled throughout mainland British Columbia, from Stanley Park to Savary Island, from the Fraser Valley to the Okanagan, and from the Kootenays to the Rockies between the 1930s and 1970s. Working the with Estate of E. J. Hughes, Amos has crafted a nuanced representation of the activities and life of this exceptionally talented and private man. Both biography and monograph, this book features full-page, full-colour reproductions of Hughes's finest paintings, many of them published here for the first time. Each painting is accompanied by supporting sketches, drawings, and photographs from Hughes's personal archive.

Gold Winner of a 2022 PubWest Book Design AwardWinner of the 2023 Basil Stuart Stubbs Book Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Book on British Columbia"A penetrating study based on unique archival material and a deep analysis into hundreds of wartime works of art." --Tim Cook, author of The Fight for History: 75 Years of Forgetting, Remembering, and Remaking of Canada's Second World WarThe third volume of this award-winning series showcases paintings and drawings E. J. Hughes created during the artist's war service in Ottawa, England, Wales, and Alaska. In this, the third volume of an award-winning series on artist E. J. Hughes (1913-2007), Robert Amos turns his focus to Hughes's service in the Second World War. The narrative begins with Hughes's cadet days with the Seaforth Highlanders in Vancouver, followed by his enlistment at the Work Point Barracks in Esquimalt in 1939. Named the first "service artist" in 1941, he spent two winters in Ottawa before being posted to London where he was attached to different regiments in England and Wales. His paintings of camp life and convoys reflect his keen attention to the details of vehicles, artillery, and uniforms. In 1943 on the Alaskan island of Kiska, he transformed sub-zero weather and howling gales into a powerful document of this remote theatre of war. He returned to Ottawa where he worked until 1946--Canada's first, last, and longest-serving War Artist of the Second World War. He was also the most prolific. The book features seventy artworks from the Canadian War Museum's holdings, expanded with many personal photos and sketches from the artist's papers. The narrative situates Hughes's wartime work within the broader context of his life and his development as an artist. With the care and knowledge of a fellow artist, Amos draws the reader into this important chapter in the life of E. J. Hughes and Canadian art.

E. J. Hughes (1913-2007) is British Columbia's best-loved landscape painter. His unashamedly picturesque views of the province are appreciated by art professionals and the public alike. Following the success of his previous volume, E. J. Hughes Paints Vancouver Island, author and artist Robert Amos now follows the footsteps of the artist as Hughes travelled throughout mainland British Columbia from Stanley Park to Savary Island, from Fraser Valley to the Okanagan, and from the Kootenays to the Rockies between the 1930s and 1970s. Working the with Estate of E. J. Hughes, Amos has created a nuanced representation of the activities and life of this extraordinarily talented and very private man. Both biography and monograph, this book features full-page, full-colour reproductions of Hughes's finest paintings, many of them published here for the first time. Each painting is accompanied by supporting sketches, drawings, and photographs from Hughes's personal archive.

An intimate and heartwarming collection of memories that puts one of Canada's most beloved and iconic artists into a whole new light. In 1916, Emily Carr wasn't famous. She was poor, and she taught art classes to children. One of her students was seven-year-old Carol Pearson. Pearson spent hours every day with Carr: they painted together at the water's edge, and she helped care for the dogs, birds, monkey and other animals that Carr kept as pets. They grew very close, and at the age of 14, Carol moved in with Carr. Emily nicknamed Carol "Baboo," and Carol called her "Mom." The two were "mother-and-daughter" for twenty-five years, up until Carr passed away. This touching tribute to Carr illustrates a gentleness and sensitivity not seen in other biographies. Originally published in 1954, this very unique biography reveals Carr's personality more fully than any other.

Victoria's Chinatown is Canada's oldest Chinese neighbourhood and has a lineage unbroken since 1858. With large-format colour photos and photocollages, Robert Amos and Kileasa Wong take you behind the doors of the 29 private clubs that make up the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. You'll see the gilded altars, antique art and ornate furniture that grace these meeting halls. Through stunning pictures and text in both Chinese and English, you will meet the club members and take an inside look at the culture of this complex community. "Inside Chinatown" is sure to become a landmark publication chronicling the vibrant heritage of Chinese Canadians.