I Can Only Paint: The Story of Battlefield Artist Mary Riter Hamilton by Irene Gammel Book Launch

How is trauma translated through art, and what does one artist’s empathic engagement with the First World War battlefields teach us about navigating through grief and loss? 

Join the MLC Research Centre to celebrate the release of Irene Gammel’s I Can Only Paint: The Story of Battlefield Artist Mary Riter Hamilton (external link) , a ground-breaking study of Hamilton’s vast, underexplored body of war work. The book features 400 pages and 160 images of paintings and rare photographs of the artist’s expedition, and theorizes how the act of witnessing atrocity comes to facilitate the processes of art-making and recovery. Gammel’s talk will detail her journey of researching and writing the book, followed by an audience Q&A and book giveaway. The event also includes remarks by international authors and scholars Catherine Speck (Australia), Dominiek Dendooven (Ypres, Belgium), Marguerite Helmers (Wisconsin-Oshkosh), Sarah McKinnon (Halifax), and McGill-Queen’s editor-in-chief Jonathan Crago.

The virtual book launch is open to the general public and free of charge. To attend, RSVP on Eventbrite (external link)  and click the green Register button to gain access to the Zoom room details.

For more information about the MLC Research Centre and Gallery at Ryerson University, visit mlc.ryerson.ca and stay up-to-date with the latest news on Twitter (@MLC_Research (external link) ).