Vazan (b. 1933) had a more conceptual approach
but remains a main figure in the Land Art move-
ment; he does not limit his subjects and sites to
Canada, however.
A number of remarkable illustrated books were
published during the second half of twentieth cen-
tury. Jean Bruche ́si wroteLe Canada(1952) for the
famous French publisher, Fernand Nathan, with
131 splendid black-and-white photographs from
various sources, including cities, landscapes,
famous sites, Natives, and reproductions of paint-
ings in museums. Art books and exhibition catalo-
gues for most of the postwar era remained the chief
source of photographic illustrated books, pub-
lished by many museums. Patrick Altman (born
in Paris, France in 1950) made a notable career
specializing in reproductions of paintings and
works of art.
Perhaps because of the size of Canada and the
vast empty landscapes of the north, aerial photo-
graphy has been frequently employed. Beginning
very early on for the genre, from the mid-1920s,
W.E. Edwards in Que ́bec City produced aerial
photographs of the region; the Fairchild Aerial
Surveys Co. in Grand-Mere (Que ́bec) also pro- duced aerial views during the same period. Provincial governments photographed almost every section of the country from the air. Pierre Lahoud has been particularly active in this area, both as an aerial photographer himself and an historian. His first book, Que ́bec a Ciel ouvert
(1987), included a short history of the beginning
of aerial photography in Canada, with Compagnie
ae ́rienne franco-canadienne, an affiliate of Com-
pagnie ae ́rienne franc ̧aise, a French corporation.
Lahoud points out that after the cessation of hos-
tilities from World War I in 1919, many combat
pilots became private and commercial pilots, hir-
ing themselves out to photographers. Their hydro-
planes flew over the Province of Que ́bec from 1920
until 1933 (Lahoud, 1987). And as part of the
burgeoning worldwide interest in aerial photo-
graphy at the end of the century, Lahoud edited
his own works into a lavish book with a text by
geographer Henri Dorion titledLe Que ́bec vu du
ciel: Au rythme des saisons(2001), which was also
translated in English. Through various viewpoints
and angles, vertical and oblique, Lahoud illus-
trates the magnificence of the Canadian landscape.
As a sign of its popularity, the original French
version was named ‘‘Favorite Book of the Year’’
in a vote made by the users of Que ́bec City’s public
library, in the year of its publication. There exist
numerous examples of aerial photography of
places such as Halifax, Que ́bec City, Ottawa, Tor-
onto, Niagara Falls, Saskatoon, Vancouver, and
Victoria. Some of these views were published in a
predecessor to Lahoud’s widely popular compila-
tion in 1957 by the Canadian publisher, Leme ́ac—
La Province de Que ́bec, with 141 he ́liogravures
taken by various photographers.
While the natural and built landscapes of
Canada have served as primary sources of subject
matter for Canadian photographers, another major
area of interest is sports. As do many Americans
and Europeans, Canadians love sports, and they
consider hockey their national sport. Many Ca-
nadian newspapers dedicate their third page to
sports, making this a major outlet for sports photo-
graphy. One of the most memorable events of the
twentieth century, the competition between an all-
star Canadian team and the Russian Army team in
1972, was celebrated in a book titledTwenty-seven
Days in September(McFarlane 1973).
If illustrated books were always popular in
Canada, they usually concentrated on the present,
showing the country as it is at any particular
moment in time. In the mid 1990’s, the Government
of Que ́bec’s publisher, Les Publications du Que ́bec,
created an ongoing series,Aux limites de la me ́m-
oire, of 11 thematic albums dedicated to vintage
photographs of Que ́bec, most before 1960 and
some from the early twentieth century. The books
focus on specific themes:Naviguer sur le Fleuve au
temps passe ́1860–1960(Franck, 2000) is about sail-
ing;La Vie Rurale 1866–1953(2001) about farms
and farmers; Au Rythme du train 1859–1970
(Reford, 2002) features railroad engines, and con-
struction of railroads, bridges, a train trestle, and
train accidents. The most recent in the seriesQuar-
tiers ouvriers d’autrefois. 1850–1950(Sicotte, 2004)
depicts workers, factories, and working-class neigh-
borhoods. Each title includes almost 200 photo-
graphs with detailed comments, year, archival
references. An overarching theme is worker photo-
graphy: the series presents farm employees, blue-
collar workers, male and female workers, and even
children and aged workers.Aux limites de la me ́m-
oirehad a wide distribution in bookstores, with
each title selling more than 7000 copies, an impress-
ive number for art books in Canada; some of those
books were accompanied by a traveling photogra-
phy exhibition.
This concept of exploring history through archi-
val photography was followed by another series
produced by a private publisher, GID. Focusing
on specific regions and their local history, and
using vintage photographs from both private andCANADA, PHOTOGRAPHY IN