MEDIA PREVIEW WITH EAST COAST ARTIST TOM FORRESTALL AT THE McMICHAEL

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McMichael Canadian Art Collection’s Tom Smart curates exhibition and writes the book about renowned Canadian realist painter, Thomas DeVany Forrestall.
Artist to attend Thursday media preview and Sunday opening for
Tom Forrestall: Paintings, Drawings, Writings

When Thursday, January 28, 2010, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg (just north of the Major Mackenzie Drive, Islington Avenue intersection)
Why Tom Forrestall: Paintings, Drawings, Writings organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and curated by McMichael Canadian Art Collection Executive Director and CEO, Tom Smart, is a retrospective exhibition which chronicles the artist’s curious observation and exploration of his surroundings, the nature of his creativity, and the source of his visions, through his works. Forrestall’s art has been classified as Magic Realism – an imprecise term often used to describe the work of a coterie of East Coast Canadian painters who emerged after the Second World War (Alex Colville, Christopher Pratt, Mary Pratt). Although their geographic roots, styles and vocabularies were similar, these artists applied themselves differently, each adapting naturalism in a personal way.
Who Meet artist Tom Forrestall and exhibition curator and author, Tom Smart, McMichael Executive Director and CEO.
What A rare opportunity to meet East Coast artist Tom Forrestall. Mr. Forrestall will tour the exhibition with visiting media. Tom Smart has written a book which traces the development of Forrestall’s art and the depth of his long artistic career, and will be attending the Media Preview. The exhibition opens Saturday, January 30 and runs to April 25, 2010. Mr. Forrestall will speak and sign books at the exhibition opening on Sunday, January 31 at 1:00 p.m.
About the Gallery
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,500 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations, and Inuit artists.
The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students and $30 for families. There is a $5 fee for parking. For more information about the gallery visit www.mcmichael.com.

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To RSVP, for further information or to receive high resolution photographs, contact:
Stephen Weir, Publicist
Gallery: 905.893.1121 ext. 2529
Toronto Office: 416.489.5868
Cell: 416.801.3101
sweir@mcmichael.com
Cathy Lepiane, Communications Coordinator
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
905.893.1121 ext. 2210
clepiane@mcmichael.com