From Book Jacket: Emily Carr defies easy description. Painter, writer, world traveler, adventurer-she was also an original, a rebel, a free spirit, and a visionary mystic. She is one of those unique individuals, those few, who have created and articulated the symbols and images by which Canada knows itself. Lewis DeSoto, himself an award-winning novelist and painter, follows Carr's trajectory from novice art student to a mature and utterly distinctive artist. He argues that her powerful paintings encompass the many aspects of her life: the passionate engagement with the West Coast landscape, her determination to forge a modern Canadian artistic sensibility, her fascination with Indian motifs, and her spirituality. With bold strokes and nuanced shadings, DeSoto's portrait captures the genius of Carr, reminding us of why she mattered then, and why she matters now.