Witness & Transformations extended until September 26, 2014

Ottawa, Ontario,September 11, 2014 — Two critically-acclaimed Canadian War Museum exhibitions that explore how the First World War was portrayed by artists have been extended.  Supported by National Presenting Sponsor TD Bank Group, Transformations – A. Y. Jackson and Otto Dix and Witness – Canadian Art of the First World War will now close on September 26, 2014.

This is the last chance to see many of the works in Transformations. Developed by the Canadian War Museum with the generous support of the National Gallery of Canada, this exhibition examines the First World War’s influence on the landscape art of two now-celebrated artists who fought on opposing sides: future Group of Seven member A. Y. Jackson and German painter-printmaker Otto Dix. After Transformations closes at the War Museum, the pieces will return to lenders across Canada and around the world.

Witness – Canadian Art of the First World War examines how Canadians depicted their First World War experiences in art, both at home and overseas, whether as official war artists or as soldiers in the field. The exhibition offers a rare chance for visitors to see intimate sketches and drawings made in trenches and prisoner-of-war camps by soldiers that have not been previously exhibited, as well as many canvases by official artists that have not been publicly displayed in the last 50 years. After it closes, Witness will travel to galleries and museums across Canada.

Witness and Transformations are the first exhibitions in a series of programs and activities planned by the Museum to illuminate one of the most important periods in Canadian history. Over the next five years, the War Museum will present a number of exhibitions and projects that examine the First World War from a variety of perspectives. The next exhibition, Fighting in Flanders – Gas. Mud. Memory., will open on November 6, 2014.  For more information, visit warmuseum.ca/centenary.

The Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Its mission is to promote public understanding of Canada’s military history in its personal, national, and international dimensions.

-30-

Media contacts:

For more information follow us on twitter.com/CanWarMuseum.