Farmhouse in Autumn, Early 20th Century Landscape by Florence Helena McGillivray

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Farmhouse in Autumn, Early 20th Century Landscape by Florence Helena McGillivray

A vibrant and colorful late 1920's landscape by Florence … Read more Farmhouse in Autumn, Early 20th Century Landscape by Florence Helena McGillivray

A vibrant and colorful late 1920's landscape by Florence Helena McGillivray (Canadian, 1864-1938). This beautiful 1929 landscape depicts a quaint farmhouse in autumn, surrounded by a landscape full of fall foliage in goldenrod yellow, bright orange, and deep red, with soft purple hills receding into the distance.

Signed "F. McGillivray" lower left.
Displayed in a new Arts & Crafts style giltwood frame.
Board size: 16"H x 20"W.
Framed size: 19.25"H x 23.25"W x 1"D.


McGillivray (1864–1938) garnered admiration for her modern landscape paintings, as well as for her mentorship of young artists, including Tom Thomson. She has been credited in some instances as an influence for what would later be known as the Group of Seven.
A prolific sketcher and painter, Florence McGillivray traveled widely in North and South America and in Europe in search of new landscapes. After studying at the Ontario School of Art under William Cruikshank, she sought out J.W.L. Foster, L.R. O'Brien and J.M. McGillivray Knowles for private lessons. Subsequent to her studies, she became a teacher at the Ontario Ladies' College, Whitby and also occasionally worked as a critic at Pickering College, Ontario.

In 1881, she began traveling, exploring parts of Canada and the British West Indies, and finally ending up in France in 1913, where she studied with Lucien Simon and Menard. While in Europe, she came into contact with Art Nouveau and Impressionism, before these movements had had the chance to migrate across the Atlantic.

1913 proved to be a successful year for McGillivray: her painting, Contentment was shown at the Salon des Beaux Arts, and she was also elected president of the International Art Union.

After traveling in Brittany, England and Italy, she returned to Toronto in 1917, and then moved to Ottawa, from which point she explored and sketched various parts of eastern Canada, including Newfoundland. Other travel destinations included Trinidad, Jamaica, and Bahama Islands in the West Indies, Alaska, the eastern United States, and western Canada.

Exhibition venues included Malloney's in Toronto, Continental Galleries, Montreal, and her Frank Street Studio in Ottawa. She was also a member of various associations such as the Ontario Society of Artists, the Society of Women Painters and Sculptors, New York, the Royal Canadian Academy and the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour. The National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre and galleries in Kitchener, London, Ontario, and Windsor all count examples of her work in their collections.

Education: Ontario College of Art & Design (formerly Ontario School of Art) (under Cruickshank); Private study (under J.W.L. Foster, L.R. O'Brien, and J.M. McGillivray Knowles); Private study, 1913 (under Lucien Simon, and Menard, Paris)

Memberships
Ontario Society of Artists, 1917
Women Painters and Sculptors, New York, 1917
International Art Union, 1913
Society of Women Painters and Sculptors, New York
Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour

File & Archive locations
Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
Hamilton Public Library - Fine Arts Department
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts - Library and Archives
National Archives of Canada - Documentary Art Library
National Gallery of Canada - Library and Archives
University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library

Source:
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative See less