This video compilation consists of two videos respectively entitled Modern Art in Canada - The Beginnings, 18 min., and The Painter Speaks - Canadian Abstract Painters, 18 min. Looking at works of art from 1900 through the 1930s, the first video examines the influence of the European avant-garde over some Canadian artists who contributed to modern art development in Canada. The second video is composed of archival radio, television and film footage that shows Canadian artists discussing the roots of their interest in abstraction, as well as their individual approaches to it.