Books of Art

296 THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY Church of England in Canada." Its purpose is to trace the development of the Anglican tradition, and it is therefore largely concerned with the history of Christianity in England. To cover so large a subject in 348 pages is no easy task, and it has obliged the author to deal with his theme in a rather broad way. There are some minor errors in matters of fact, but by and large this work by a liberally nrinded churchman is well done. ] ames Cardinal McGuigan by C. L. Fisher is a rather laudatory biography of Canada's first English-speaking cardinal. The various stages in the career of this Prince of the Church are faithfully recorded, as is his interest in Catholic education. The stature of the Cardinal is unfortunately obscured by the author's tendency to dwell upon ecclesiastical details. The account of the Archbishop's visit to Rome in 1946 to receive the red hat, and of the various receptions afterwards accorded the Cardinal in England , Ireland, and Canada, takes up almost half of the book. CHECKwLIST OF TITLES BANNISTER (J. A.), Centennial history of Grace United Church, Port Dover, Ont., 1847-1947 (Port Dover, the Church, 1947, 24 pp., $1.00). CARRINGTON (PHILIP), A Church history for Canadians to 1900 A.D. (Toronto, General Board of Religious Education of the Church of England in Canada, 350 pp., $1.50). CHALMERS (R. C.), The pure celestial fire: an evangelical interpretation of Christianity (Toronto, Ryerson, xii, 238 pp., $3.50). Frs:a:ER (C. L.), James Cardinal McGuigan, Archbishop of Toronto (Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, x} 133 pp., $3.00). KEMP (D. F.), "The clock of destiny" (Toronto, Church of England jn Canada, Supplies Dept., 104 pp.). LANDE (L. M.), Sackcloth :and light: a study of Job (Montreal, the author, c/o Indusw trial Loan & Finance Corporation, limited ed., $4.00). MACLENNAN (D. A.), No coward soul; with a foreword by LLOYD C. DouGLAs (Toronto, Clarke Irwin, xii, 244 pp., $2.50). PIDGEON (G. C.), The indwelling Christ (Toronto, Clarke Irwin, x, 208 pp., $2.50). WARNER (H. W.), And Jacob called the name of that place Bethel: the hjstory of Bethel United Church, South Augusta, Ontario, 1878-1948 ( 171 pp.). 4. Books on Art D. W. BucHANAN Most ambitious of the books to be written on the fine arts this year by a Canadian was john Constable: His Life and Work by Sydney J. Key of the Art Gallery of Toronto. It is the second in a series called "Bntish Painters," by various authors and published in London; these are biographies and appreciations running to about thirty thousand words each on the principal British artists. A book of this nature on Constable was certainly needed and Mr. Key has done much meticulous and studious work in preparing it. He has, however, strung his material together in an uninspired chronological fashion, and thus, although his style is clear enough, the book makes hard reading. How much better if the chapters could have been composed round definite themes, such as his training, his marriage, his relations with the Royal Academy, and so forth. Also in the critical summary of his work at the end, an extra chapter could well have been devoted to a study and appreciation of his oil sketches. These were painted directly from nature, with great spontaneity of feeling; they were LETTERS IN CANADA: 1948 297 also unique, for their period, in being finished compositions in themselves which, at the same time, managed to preserve the freshness of nature and the momentary effects of sunlight and rain. They, as much as his large paintings, have had great influence on artists since, and are coming more and more to be recognized for their true greatness. Yet their relative importance seems to have been somewhat neglected in this book. Two new volumes have appeared in the "Canadian Art" series. Best of these is the one on Cornelius Krieghoff by Dr. Marius Barbeau, which contains a short account of the life of this pioneer painter of Quebec and a brief critical essay on his work. Dr. Barbeau has done a bright and straightforward job of writing...