Toronto Reference Library Blog

I was spawned from the glacier,
A thousand miles due north
Beyond Cape Chidley;
And the spawning,
When my vast, wallowing bulk went under,
Emerged and heaved aloft,
Shaking down cataracts from its rocking sides,
With mountainous surge and thunder
Outraged the silence of the Arctic sea.

—Charles G.D. Roberts “The Iceberg”

Icy weather has come to stay for at least a few months, so Toronto Reference Library has created a book display featuring the late Doris Mccarthy’s signature iceberg paintings.

Her work is matched with other Canadians artists who also painted Arctic landscapes: Lauren Harris’ iconic painting of Mount Lefroy, Toni Onley’s moody watercolours of Baffin Island, Christopher Pratt’s quiet snowbound shacks and Ted Harrison’s brilliantly coloured Arctic villages.

They are joined by one painting by the great German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. Friedrich’s famous Sea of Ice depicts a shipwreck in the middle of a broken ice-sheet.  The painting is a prime example of the sublime: awe-inspiring natural phenomenon that both impresses and terrifies with its power and magnitude. 

Want to see more? Our virtual exhibit from a few years back Frozen Oceans:Search for the North-West Passage has a host of  Canadian Arctic images that are sure to make you feel warmer inside.

I was spawned from the glacier,
A thousand miles due north
Beyond Cape Chidley;
And the spawning,
When my vast, wallowing bulk went under,
Emerged and heaved aloft,
Shaking down cataracts from its rocking sides,
With mountainous surge and thunder
Outraged the silence of the Arctic sea.

—Charles G.D. Roberts “The Iceberg”

Icy weather has come to stay for at least a few months, so Toronto Reference Library has created a book display featuring the late Doris Mccarthy’s signature iceberg paintings.

Her work is matched with other Canadians artists who also painted Arctic landscapes: Lauren Harris’ iconic painting of Mount Lefroy, Toni Onley’s moody watercolours of Baffin Island, Christopher Pratt’s quiet snowbound shacks and Ted Harrison’s brilliantly coloured Arctic villages.

They are joined by one painting by the great German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. Friedrich’s famous Sea of Ice depicts a shipwreck in the middle of a broken ice-sheet.  The painting is a prime example of the sublime: awe-inspiring natural phenomenon that both impresses and terrifies with its power and magnitude. 

Want to see more? Our virtual exhibit from a few years back Frozen Oceans:Search for the North-West Passage has a host of  Canadian Arctic images that are sure to make you feel warmer inside.