Life on Canada's prairies was difficult during the Depression. A pitiless climate and stifled economic opportunities caused many people to look inward for consolation. Many farmers turned to their faith and prayed that things might be better. The townspeople added in social connections and community life as ways of getting by. Neither of these paths brought peace to Phillip Bentley. A minister in name only, he withdrew into the seclusion of his study where he sought solace in his art. Phillip's sketches were bleak, unrelenting and consistent in their portrayal of these times. Dominant among these were his many depictions of main streets that both revealed the true nature of prairie society and the evolving character of Phillip as he slowly groped his way through life.

It's clear, however, that Phillip's art did not always contain the bleak images that dominated his Horizon period. In the years just...