“Vivid, blaring, inharmonious”, an “orgy of shrill colours, uniformly applied like house paint”, “rough splashy meaningless blatant plastering and massing of unpleasant colours in weird landscapes” were just a few of the criticisms levelled at Montreal’s contemporary art in the 1920s. The Canadian establishment was reluctant to accept Modernist painting, although in France, painters such as Cezanne, Matisse, and Picasso had already left academic painting far behind.
1920s Modernism in Montreal: The Beaver Hall Group features Montreal’s counterpart to Toronto's Group of Seven, established in the same year. Unlike the Group of Seven who sought to define Canada through its northern landscapes, the Beaver Hall Group’s focus was closer to home. And, unlike the Group of Seven, it was open to women at a time when, even after rigorous training at the Montreal Art Association and abroad, they were dismissed as hobbyists.
The exhibition, then, is not only about the art, but also about long-overlooked women artists. And, despite recent concerns that they have now usurped the group, their work does dominate the show. Look for Prudence Heward’s At the Theatre, portraying two women in evening dress from the back, Lilias Torrance Newton’s Nude in the Studio, which caused a major stir in prudish Toronto, and Kathleen Morris’s After Grand Mass, Berthier-en-Haut with its horses and sleighs, now of a by-gone era.
And, yes, the men are there including A.Y. Jackson and Edwin Holgate who were also members of the Group of Seven. Look for Adrien Hébert’s Rue Saint-Denis, bustling with Montreal's commerce, Henri Hébert’s statuettes, Flapper and Charleston, depicting 1920's cultural icons, and J.Y. Johnstone’s Chinatown, Montreal, evoking its opium underworld.
There is much to discover in the more than 140 paintings, sculptures, and archival materials. Especially interesting are “lost” works which until now have been hidden away in private collections: Prudence Heward’s The Immigrants, Randolph Hewton’s society girl, Miss Mary MacIntosh, and Lilias Torrance Newton’s portrait of Heward.
You will be left with life stories to be explored and questions to be answered. Who were these artists? What of those who faded into obscurity, who died young, who gave up careers for marriage, who had to choose more lucrative occupations? Why has the Beaver Hall Group been ignored for so long? And why has the exhibition not been invited to Toronto, to the Art Gallery of Ontario?
1920s Modernism in Montreal: The Beaver Hall Group is a travelling exhibition organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and curated by Jacques Des Rochers and Brian Foss. It can be seen at the Art Gallery of Hamilton from February 20 to May 8, 2016; the Art Gallery of Windsor from June 24 to October 2, 2016; and the Glenbow Museum in Calgary from October 22, 2016 to January 29, 2017.
1920s Modernism in Montreal: The Beaver Hall Group features Montreal’s counterpart to Toronto's Group of Seven, established in the same year. Unlike the Group of Seven who sought to define Canada through its northern landscapes, the Beaver Hall Group’s focus was closer to home. And, unlike the Group of Seven, it was open to women at a time when, even after rigorous training at the Montreal Art Association and abroad, they were dismissed as hobbyists.
The exhibition, then, is not only about the art, but also about long-overlooked women artists. And, despite recent concerns that they have now usurped the group, their work does dominate the show. Look for Prudence Heward’s At the Theatre, portraying two women in evening dress from the back, Lilias Torrance Newton’s Nude in the Studio, which caused a major stir in prudish Toronto, and Kathleen Morris’s After Grand Mass, Berthier-en-Haut with its horses and sleighs, now of a by-gone era.
And, yes, the men are there including A.Y. Jackson and Edwin Holgate who were also members of the Group of Seven. Look for Adrien Hébert’s Rue Saint-Denis, bustling with Montreal's commerce, Henri Hébert’s statuettes, Flapper and Charleston, depicting 1920's cultural icons, and J.Y. Johnstone’s Chinatown, Montreal, evoking its opium underworld.
There is much to discover in the more than 140 paintings, sculptures, and archival materials. Especially interesting are “lost” works which until now have been hidden away in private collections: Prudence Heward’s The Immigrants, Randolph Hewton’s society girl, Miss Mary MacIntosh, and Lilias Torrance Newton’s portrait of Heward.
You will be left with life stories to be explored and questions to be answered. Who were these artists? What of those who faded into obscurity, who died young, who gave up careers for marriage, who had to choose more lucrative occupations? Why has the Beaver Hall Group been ignored for so long? And why has the exhibition not been invited to Toronto, to the Art Gallery of Ontario?
1920s Modernism in Montreal: The Beaver Hall Group is a travelling exhibition organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and curated by Jacques Des Rochers and Brian Foss. It can be seen at the Art Gallery of Hamilton from February 20 to May 8, 2016; the Art Gallery of Windsor from June 24 to October 2, 2016; and the Glenbow Museum in Calgary from October 22, 2016 to January 29, 2017.
