Arlene Gehmacher

Arlene Gehmacher is an Art Historian specializing in imagery of Canada from the 18th century to the present, primarily in the visual idioms of Western European art.  She studies "Canada" as a subject in its social context, in terms of production, critical reception, institutional histories, and display strategies, as a means to address how identities and historical narratives from national to personal levels are articulated and communicated.  In this regard she is also interested in the significance of the development and role of printmaking—particularly chromolithography—in 19th century Canada.

Arlene is cross-appointed as Associate Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of Toronto. Since 2003 she has taught her seminar course "Collecting Canada," which using the ROM's holdings, focuses on practical and theoretical aspects of the collecting of "Canadiana" imagery.