Portraits of Canada

Photography, Identity & the Art of Hannah Maynard, Yousuf Karsh & Arnaud Maggs

Art Canada Institute Fall 2025 Public Art Talk

Monday, September 29, 2025 | 6:30pm
Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles Street West, Toronto
RSVP here | More information

Portraiture has a unique place in Canadian art. By looking at faces portrayed—why and when—we gain insights into social, cultural, and political history. This talk looks at the art of nineteenth-century portraitist Hannah Maynard (1834–1918), internationally acclaimed Yousuf Karsh (1908–2002), and contemporary master Arnaud Maggs (1926–2012) and how their work reveals a collective Canadian identity, from the inception of the camera’s use to the present day.

Please join us for this free, public art talk featuring:

Elizabeth Anne Cavaliere
Author of Hannah Maynard: Life & Work

Melissa Rombout
Author of Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work

Anne Cibola
Author of Arnaud Maggs: Life & Work

With Sara Angel, ACI Founder and Executive Director

Season Sponsor, 2025-2026 Publications:
Power Corporation of Canada

Art Canada Institute
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Image credits (left to right, top to bottom):
1. Hannah Maynard, Portrait of a young woman [Laura Lillian], reproduced in Weissman Wilks, pg. 124.
2. Hannah Maynard, Ah Foo, Charles Frederic Newcombe’s cook, 1885.
3. Yousuf Karsh, Margaret Atwood, November 5, 1977.
4. Yousuf Karsh, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, November 4, 1968.
5 & 6. Arnaud Maggs, 64 Portrait Studies (details), 1976–78.
7. Hannah Maynard, Unidentified Child at a Mock Beach, n.d.
8. Hannah Maynard, Portrait of Aboriginal peoples of B.C. – Captain Jack, Chief of the Rupert Indians with his wife, c.1868-1878.
9. Yousuf Karsh, Glenn Gould, February 21, 1957.
10. Yousuf Karsh, Kenojuak Ashevak, April 8, 1976.
11. Arnaud Maggs, Leonard Cohen, 1977.
12. Arnaud Maggs, 48 Views, Jane Jacobs, 1981–83.