Entre 2011 et 2019, j’ai travaillé sur un doctorat interuniversitaire en histoire de l’art. Je place ici le brouillon de ma thèse. Vous pouvez consulter le plan complet du projet et une description de mon parcours. N’oubliez pas qu’il s’agit d’un brouillon.
4.7 L’exposition inaugurale de 1912
Une exposition d’oeuvres prêtées est organisée au moment de l’inauguration du nouveau bâtiment. Le mode opératoire est le même qu’en 1879 et 1893.
Une soirée privée est réservée aux membres1. Le gouverneur général, le duc de Connaught, y occupe la place d’honneur2. Son discours souligne de nouveau la mission éducative de l’association :
Such an exhibition is of great educational value to the city, accustoming the eye of those who visit it to real beauty of color and of form, and weaning them from the meretricious class of painting which too often masquarades as Art. By thus educating the artistic taste of a people, they are gradually led to feel the need of beauty in their surroundings, and the improvement in artistic sense manifests itself in a demand for grace, beauty and congruity in their gardens, their houses and their furniture. In a country like Canada, where nearly everone works hard, there is a tendency to forget the value and pleasure of beautiful surroundings, and exhibitions as this will help to stimulate the sense of what is beautiful, and to remind people that much may be done, and at little expense, to make their cities and their homes pleasing to the eye without abating an atome of practical utility3.