Canadian exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition

The 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Missouri, United States was the largest exhibition held in the Western hemisphere to date.

[3] As in previous exhibitions such as the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, Canada was shown as an independent nation and not as part of Great Britain.

[3] On viewing it, Francis wrote that Canadian art was never represented better at any international exhibition, adding that it most closely resembled developments in the United States and praising many of the Canadian exhibitors, among them painters Florence Carlyle, Robert Harris, Edmond Dyonnet, Curtis Williamson, Laura Muntz (who also exhibited in 1893 at the World's Columbian Exposition),[8] and F.M.

[9] It wrote that the hanging was effective and in good taste and added, "it has been said of the collection that no better work was shown for its size by any other country".

[9] The Dominion government had left the selection of paintings entirely in the hands of the Royal Canadian Academy (RCA), which upheld traditional values and academic training in art.

[10] The Academy chose works from the annual RCA show that year which had an unusually good selection, artists having been encouraged to put their best, not only their latest works, Established artists were selected as, for instance, Robert Ford Gagen, one of the Canadian Fine Arts Commissioners, who exhibited a watercolour of a seascape,[11][12] but relative newcomers also were included, such as Mary E. Wrinch who showed a case of miniature paintings on ivory.

[10] The walls, as in the international and British sections, were coloured a strong red with light grey, white and gold in the frieze.

[10] In the handbook of the exhibition, three artists were singled out for illustration: Harris (Countess of Minto), Homer Watson (The Flood Gate) and F. M. McGillivray Knowles (Landing the Catch).