Canadian Women Artists You Didn't Know

Newton's portrait of painter Louis Muhlstock

I'd been meaning to go to the Vancouver Art Gallery to check out its exhibition, Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment for months, but yesterday when I realised it would be closing in a few days, I made the effort to go this afternoon!

Portrait of FH Varley

When it comes to Canadian art, who comes to mind? The Group of Seven (Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, AY Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, JEH MacDonald, and Frederick Varley. Other artists who joined later were AJ Casson, Edwin Holgate, and Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald.

So a bunch of men, and one woman -- Emily Carr.

But it turns out there were a lot of women artists in the same time period, from the 1920s to 1930s and this exhibition shines a spotlight on them. Not only did they paint, but also sculpt and photograph.

A few of them were the wives of artists in the Group of Seven, like Bess Larkin Housser Harris, the wife of Lawren Harris. The couple liked going to remote places in nature to paint, though her favourite painting is called Old Mine Shaft, Cobalt, and the mountain scene was the work she kept with her until she died.

There's a powerful abstract painting by Vera Weatherbie called Portrait of FH Varley. He is painted with a long coat, his arms folded with a cigarette in his left hand and he looks off into the distance. There is a silhouette behind him, that reminds me of a butterfly. 

His face is not painted clearly, but his facial expression is quite intense with a slight furrowed brow, the palette of greens, yellows and a tinge of orangey-pink. 

Housser Harris' favourite painting

It turns out Weatherbie was Varley's muse, as he painted her portrait several times. He later recounted that she was the "single greatest influence" on his art and life. The admiration was mutual.

The composition of this portrait was interesting -- looking down at the subject, who rests his arms on the back of the chair and looks beyond the canvas elsewhere. It's a painting of artist Louis Muhlstock, who painted street life in Montreal and the plight of the working class during the Great Depression. He has an angular face, broad shoulders, and looking sharp in his jacket, shirt and tie.

Weatherbie also painted the lives of immigrant workers and one of her paintings is called My-E-En. It depicts an Asian man working in a cannery, wearing a broad hat, and white clothing as he holds up a platter of three fish. It's interesting to see Asian people -- it's not clear if he is Chinese or Japanese, but he seems to be portrayed as being happy with this work...

Sea and Shore in marble by Wyle

Meanwhile Florence Wyle's sculptures are mesmerising in that they convey so much emotion without too much detail. One work is called Sea and Shore, featuring a woman's body from the neck down, the partial arms revealing a draping, while the breasts are revealed, and the rest of the body covered in a fabric that drapes down to suggest the legs below.

Carved out of marble, it is strong but also delicate, and sensual, revealing the flowing lines of the female form.

And of course how can this exhibition not include Emily Carr? Several of her paintings are featured towards the end of the show. One is called Stumps and Sky, and one may remember a few months back when a pair of climate change activists came to the Vancouver Art Gallery and chose this painting to throw maple syrup on it (though it was covered in glass) and then glue themselves to the wall below...

At least the stunt brought more attention to the art gallery and the exhibition?

So pleased to learn more about Canadian female artists, who to me painted just as well as the men. In some cases they had a similar masculine feel, others a more feminine touch. Hopefully the gallery and others will make more of an effort to showcase women artists. I'm glad I didn't miss this show!

Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment

Until January 8, 2023

Vancouver Art Gallery