Mentor times two
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In Halifax, The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia remembers two artists who exerted a presence in the visual arts in the province both through their work and through their influence on younger artists. Born in Halifax' north end, John Cook (1918-1984) was a prolific and unsentimental painter of Nova Scotia's rural and urban landscapes and an energetic teacher who cared little for the established institutions of art. Born in New Brunswick, Donald Cameron Mackay (1906-1979) worked as war artist, illustrator, printmaker and painter over a career than spanned 50 years. Principal of the Nova Scotia College of Art from 1945 until 1971, he was by his own admission of an "ultra conservative" stamp. The parallel and yet disparate careers of Cook and Mackay largely defined the horizon for serious artists in Nova Scotia until the 1970s. *John Cook: Artist & Teacher* and *Donald Cameron Mackay: Artist & Teacher* continue at the gallery ([www.agns.ednet.ns.ca](http://www.agns.ednet.ns.ca)) until Jan. 16, 2000. FIGURES 1 and 2

![Figure1](http://www.cmaj.ca/https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/161/12/1567.2/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.cmaj.ca/content/161/12/1567.2/F1)

Figure 1. John Cook, *The Little Boats of Indian Harbour,* 1967. Oil on masonite, 50.5 × 76.0 cm


![Figure2](http://www.cmaj.ca/https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/161/12/1567.2/F2.medium.gif)

[Figure2](http://www.cmaj.ca/content/161/12/1567.2/F2)

Figure 2. Donald Cameron Mackay, *Landscape, Herring Cove, c.* 1950. Oil on canvas, 61.1 × 76.1 cm