The Official Picture

Capturing a vision of Canadian nationalism.

Capturing a vision of Canadian nationalism.

Carol Payne is professor of art history and associate dean in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Carleton University, the author of The Official Picture: The National Film Board of Canada’s Still Photography Division and the Image of Canada, 1941–1971, and co-editor of The Cultural Work of Photography in Canada.Carol Payne is associate professor of art history at Carleton University and co-editor of The Cultural Work of Photography in Canada.

"The wealth and variety of Payne’s sources are exceptional, all of which she examines with intelligence and rigour. Through her remarkable understanding of the period and her compelling analysis of the images, Payne shows herself to be an accomplished art and cultural historian." Annie Gérin, Département d’histoire de l’art, Université du Québec à Montréal

“The Official Picture marks an important turning point in studies on Canadian visual history by deconstructing images of government-approved Canadian nationalism and providing new questions for historians to ask of historic photographs. [It] should appeal to scholars of photography, film and cultural history, as well as historians in general, because of its balanced framework and analysis of the nuanced messages conveyed through photographs.” Jacqueline McIsaac, History of Photography