Women's Art Association of Canada

Last updated
Women's Art Association of Canada
AbbreviationWAAC
Founded1887;137 years ago (1887)
Type Non-profit association
PurposeSupporting women artists
Location
  • 23 Prince Arthur Avenue
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates 43°40′10″N79°23′47″W / 43.669475°N 79.396434°W / 43.669475; -79.396434
Website womensartofcanada.ca

The Women's Art Association of Canada (WAAC) is an organization founded in 1887 to promote and support women artists and craftswomen in Canada, including artists in the visual media, performance artists and writers. At one time, it had almost 1,000 members. Although smaller today, it still plays an active role in fundraising and providing scholarships for young artists.

Contents

Inception

In 1886 the young Canadian artist Mary Dignam (1857–1938) returned from six years in Europe, where she had supported herself by organizing art tours for young ladies in Italy and the Netherlands. [1] She joined the staff of Miss E.K. Westmacott's Associated Artists' School of Art and Design, founded in Toronto in 1884, which taught handicrafts to women. She began to teach classes in drawing, painting and modelling in the school's studio on the 2nd floor of the Arcade building. In 1887 Dignam created a young women's artists organization which shared the premises of the handicrafts school. [2] The organization was part of the Lyceum Club. [3] [a] After two years, Dignam replaced Miss Westmacott as president of the school. [2]

In 1890 Dignam incorporated the artist's organization as the Women's Art Club. It was renamed the Women's art Association of Canada in 1892. [2] Dignam wrote later, "We had a Royal Academy branch in Toronto but I found I had to do something to open the door for women and the only way seemed to be the organization of the Women's Art Association." [10] The association adopted the motto of the Plantin Press of Antwerp, Labore et Constantia (Labour and Constancy), the colours of red and white and the wild rose as emblem. [11]

Objectives

The goal of the association was to encourage and support Canadian women artists, including those involved in branches of fine art, applied and performance arts. [12] According to the 1907 Bill No.30 An Act To Incorporate The Women's Art Association of Canada, "The objects of the Association shall be the creating of a general interest in art and the encouragement of women's work for the purpose of mutual help and co-operation of its members, the establishment of art lectures and reading clubs, the holding of exhibitions of painting, designs, sculpture, engraving and the industrial arts, and the encouragement and development of the art handicrafts and home industries of Canada." [13]

In a 1917 article in Woman's Century the WAAC stated, "Service is the keynote to happiness. Every part of the Art Association's activities is based on service to the individual, to the community, and to the nation." [14] The 1919 National Council of Women of Canada Yearbook defined the purpose of the WAAC as "to create a general interest in art, to encourage art handicrafts and home industries, and to establish art lectures and exhibitions of painting, sculpture and design." The yearbook added that "In this way it hopes to supply in some measure that great need of the artist: a public able to understand and trained to appreciate the best in art." [12] The WAAC appreciated and promoted the different cultural heritages of native Canadians, French Canadians and immigrants from different countries. [12]

Early years

Lady Aberdeen, first patron of the WAAC (1898) Her Excellency Lady Aberdeen (HS85-10-10178).jpg
Lady Aberdeen, first patron of the WAAC (1898)

The first branches after the 1892 incorporation in Toronto were founded in Winnipeg, London, Ontario, and Montreal. [15] The Hamilton, branch was established in 1894. [16] Late in 1893 the WAAC became the first women's organization to affiliate with the National Council of Women of Canada, which had been founded on the initiative of Lady Aberdeen, wife of the Governor General of Canada from 1893 to 1898. The WAAC elected Lady Aberdeen as patron. [17] [b] This established a tradition that has been followed since then by all the wives of Governors General. [18] Florence Deeks, who in 1912 prepared a "historical sketch" of the early years of the association, seems likely to have joined in the mid-1890s. [2]

The group held thirteen annual exhibitions from 1889 to 1901, and occasional loan exhibitions after that. The catalogues for the early exhibitions include paintings and sketches by members, and works on loan from private collections. Often there were also handicrafts made by members. In the 1900 exhibition there were oil and watercolour paintings, pastel drawings, designs, miniatures and 112 handicraft items. There was also a loan exhibit that showed decorative art from many different places and ages. The catalogue said these specimens were intended to show "the possibilities open to women of artistic bent". [3] In 1896 the WAAC proposed that a State Dinner Service of painted china be made by Alice Mary Egan of Halifax, Nova Scotia and twelve other artists from Ontario and Quebec. The service was made and was a success. [19]

The WAAC opened branches across Canada, eventually reaching Alberta in the west and New Brunswick in the east. [12] By 1898 there were almost 1,000 members. [10] The Montreal branch of the Womens Art Association was founded in 1894 by Mary Martha Phillips and Mary Alice Peck. In 1907 it broke away from the WAAC and formed the independent Women's Art Society of Montreal. This was extremely successful, and in 1911 had to impose a cap of 350 members. Despite taking the name l'Association culturelle des femmes de Montréal in 1981, it remained essentially Anglophone. The Montreal society remains active today. [20] [c]

The Winnipeg Branch of the WAAC was established in February 1894. It separated its members into "active" and "honorary", the first group being professional artists or serious students of art, and the second being women who were interested in the arts. Membership rose from about 20 in 1894 to 188 in 1907. Most of the members grew impatient with the degree of control exerted by Mary Dignam, and broke away in 1908 to form the Western Art Association. The last groups associated with the WAAC in Winnipeg disbanded in 1909. [23]

Later evolution

Mary Dignam, the founder and long-time president, c. 1903 Mary Ella Dignam.jpg
Mary Dignam, the founder and long-time president, c. 1903

In 1912 the Toronto-based association was formally incorporated under federal legislation as the Women's Art Association of Canada. [18] Mary Dignam was president until 1913, and remained in an advisory role for many years after. In 1936 she returned as president for the 50th anniversary of the WAAC. [10] Matilda Ridout Edgar (1844–1910), historian, feminist and wife of the politician and businessman James David Edgar, was also associated with the WAAC in its early years. [24]

Howard and Lorrie Dunington-Grubb, well-known landscape gardeners, moved to Toronto in 1911 and soon after founded Sheridan Nurseries. [25] Howard became a member of the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, but Lorrie was unable to join since she was a woman. [26] Lorrie became involved with the Women's Art Association around 1915 and was president of the WAAC from 1925 to 1930. [27] Lorrie was also an active member of the Lyceum Club of Toronto and the Heliconian Club, both devoted to women's involvement in the arts. [28] In April 1930 the WAAC became affiliated with the Lyceum Club of London, England, and changed its name to the Lyceum Club and Women's Art Association of Canada. [29]

The branch in St. Thomas, Ontario illustrates the evolution of one local branch. It was founded by eleven members at a meeting at the St. Thomas Business College on 26 March 1895, with the painter and teacher Miss Susan Paul as first president. The branch met at different locations, including the YWCA, the St. Thomas-Elgin Art Gallery and Sifton House at Alma College. Membership fees were the main source of funding, but the branch also held exhibitions, lectures, teas and other events. The branch arranged tours of studios and museums, and sponsored display of artwork in schools. It was most active from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s, when it usually had more than 100 paid members. After this the branch slowly declined in activity and membership, and closed around 1990. [29]

The sculptor Frances Loring was president of the WAAC from 1938 to 1940. [30] The name was changed back to the Women's Art Association of Canada after World War II (1939–45). [13] The WAAC remains active, and as of 2014 had 200 members, including women and men. It is based in a Victorian-era house in downtown Toronto. [31] The building at 23 Prince Arthur Avenue was purchased in 1916 for $13,000. The adjoining house at 21 Prince Arthur Avenue was purchased in 1924. It contains the Dignam Gallery and has a large garden landscaped in traditional style. [5] The houses at #21-23 Prince Arthur are in Second Empire style. Roughcast stucco was later covered by siding. Neighboring houses have eclectic architectural styles ranging from Italianate to crenelated Tudor Revival. [32] The garden is named after Lorrie Dunington-Grubb. [33]

Activities

The WAAC founded a gallery where its members' work could be exhibited, and arranged sales and shows of paintings and sculpture. [12] The organization arranged lectures and even staged outdoor dramatic productions. It provided courses in jewellery making, weaving and ceramics. [10] The Home Industries Department supported craftswomen involved in pottery, weaving and embroidery, and gave them a means to become known to the public and to sell their work. [12] It marketed products such as traditional hooked rugs and French-Canadian homespuns. [10]

Emily Carr held her first solo show in eastern Canada in 1935 at the WAAC gallery in Toronto. [12] [d] The gallery often showed sculptures by Frances Loring and Florence Wyle. The WAAC also sponsored music, dance and literature. It arranged scholarship for young performance artists, and arranged concerts and readings. [12] In the 1920s and 1930s the WAAC staged tableaux vivants in their garden in Toronto. From 1917 they have held an annual garden party there. [5]

The WAAC remained active in the National Council of Women until the 1970s. [12] The WAAC continues to provide scholarships to students at institutions such as Canada's National Ballet School, The Royal Conservatory of Music, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, OCAD University, Sheridan College and George Brown College. Members raise funds through art shows and auctions, an annual garden party, textile shows and book sales. The gallery and garden of the headquarters building are available for rental for use in shows and events. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnipeg Art Gallery</span> Public art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba

The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collection of Inuit art. In addition to exhibits for its collection, the museum has organized and hosted a number of travelling arts exhibitions. Its building complex consists of a main building that includes 11,000 square metres (120,000 sq ft) of indoor space and the adjacent 3,700-square-metre (40,000 sq ft) Qaumajuq building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prudence Heward</span> Canadian painter (1896–1947)

Prudence Heward was a Canadian figure painter, known for using acidic colour, a sculptural treatment, and giving an intense brooding quality to her subjects. She was a charter member of the Canadian Group of Painters, the Contemporary Arts Society and the Federation of Canadian Artists. Although she did not show her work with the Beaver Hall Group, she was allied with many of its artists in her aesthetic aims and through friendships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Dignam</span> Canadian painter, teacher and art organizer

Mary Ella Dignam was a Canadian painter, teacher, and art organizer best remembered as the founder and first president of the Women's Art Association of Canada (WAAC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florence Helena McGillivray</span>

Florence Helena McGillivray, also known as F H. McGillivray, was a Canadian landscape painter known for her Post-Impressionist style. Her family home was in Whitby, Ontario. She lived in Ottawa from 1914 to 1928. She was also a teacher. In 1916, on a visit to his studio, she encouraged Tom Thomson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pegi Nicol MacLeod</span> Canadian painter

Pegi Nicol MacLeod,, was a Canadian painter whose modernist self-portraits, figure studies, paintings of children, still lifes and landscapes are characterized by a fluidity of form and vibrant colour. Born Margaret Kathleen Nichol, she was a teacher, war artist and arts activist. In 1936 she became a member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour and one year later she joined the Canadian Group of Painters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Belmore</span> Canadian Anishinaabekwe artist (born 1960)

Rebecca Belmore is a Canadian interdisciplinary Anishinaabekwe artist who is notable for politically conscious and socially aware performance and installation work. She is Ojibwe and a member of Obishikokaang. Belmore currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional Native Indian Artists Inc.</span>

The Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporation (PNIAI) was a group of First Nations artists from Canada, with one from the United States. Founded in November 1973, they were Indigenous painters who exhibited in the mainstream art world.

The War Artists' Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artistic record of Britain throughout the war. This was achieved both by appointing official war artists, on full-time or temporary contracts and by acquiring artworks from other artists. When the committee was dissolved in December 1945 its collection consisted of 5,570 works of art produced by over four hundred artists. This collection was then distributed to museums and institutions in Britain and around the world, with over half of the collection, some 3,000 works, going to the Imperial War Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mabel Cawthra</span> Canadian painter and decorator

Mabel Cawthra Adamson (1871–1943) was a Canadian painter and decorator, who was active in the Arts and Crafts movement in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorrie Dunington-Grubb</span> English landscape architect

Lorrie Alfreda Dunington-Grubb was an English landscape architect. She moved to Canada in 1911 with her husband and business partner Howard Dunington-Grubb where they founded Sheridan Nurseries. She was active in garden design, a writer and a patron of the arts.

Sheridan Nurseries is a Canadian garden supplies company based in the Toronto area. The company has over 375 hectares of land for growing plants and eight garden centers. Employment varies seasonally, but during peak periods it has over 1,000 staff.

<i>Canadian Historical Dinner Service</i> 204-piece eight-course dinner service

The Canadian Historical Dinner Service, originally called the Cabot Commemorative State Dinner Service, is 204-piece eight-course dinner service with 24 place settings of hand-painted porcelain. It was created in 1896–97 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first visit to Canada by a European, John Cabot. The illustrations all have Canadian subjects, and no two pieces are the same.

Lily Osman Adams (1865–1945) was a Canadian painter. She worked mainly in pastel and watercolor, and depicted landscapes, flowers and still life.

The Canadian Handicrafts Guild was an association of Canadians involved in handicrafts that was founded in Montreal in 1906. At first the goal was to preserve and market traditional home crafts that were seen as being at risk of dying out. Demand for high quality products and a shift towards more "professional" craftspeople and modern designs placed stress on the organization. In 1967 the provincial branches became autonomous, and subsequently evolved separately. At the national level the Guild was merged with the Canadian Craftsman's Association in 1974 to form the Canadian Crafts Council, now the Canadian Crafts Federation.

The Canadian Guild of Potters was a non-profit organization of Canadian ceramic artists that was active from 1936 to 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Surrey</span> Canadian painter (1910–1990)

Philip Surrey LL. D. was a Canadian artist known for his figurative scenes of Montreal. A founding member of the Contemporary Arts Society, and Montreal Men's Press Club, Surrey was part of Montreal's cultural elite during the late 1930s and 1940s. In recognition of his artistic accomplishment he was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, awarded a Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967 and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary E. Wrinch</span> Canadian painter (1877-1969)

Mary Evelyn Wrinch who signed her name M. E. Wrinch (1877–1969), was a Canadian artist who created miniature paintings, oil paintings, and block prints, sometimes inspired by the Northern Ontario landscape. She pioneered the 'Canadian style', painting landscapes with bold colours of the Algoma, Muskoka and Lake Superior regions, in situ. In her miniature paintings on ivory, she depicted her sitters with freshness and vitality. Her colour block prints are virtuoso examples of the medium.

Alison Houston Lockerbie Newton (1890–1967) was a Canadian painter known for her watercolours and woodblock prints.

Hilda Katherine Lilith Ross was a Canadian potter, painter, and educator working primarily in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Tsēma Igharas, formerly known as Tamara Skubovius, is an interdisciplinary artist and member of the Tāłtān First Nation based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Igharas uses Potlatch methodology in making art, to assert the relationships between bodies and the world, and to challenge colonial systems of value and measurement of land and resources.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ The WAAC was closely associated with the Toronto Lyceum Club. The 1887 organization was part of the Lyceum Club. [3] The property at #21 Prince Arthur Avenue was occupied by the Lyceum Club, next door to the WAAC house at #23. [4] It was purchased by the WAAC in 1924. [5] The name was retained. Emily Carr exhibited at the Lyceum Club, Toronto in 1936 and 1941. [6] Lillian McGeoch exhibited at the Toronto Lyceum Club in 1957. [7] The painter Charlotte Schreiber (1834–1922) had exhibited at the Toronto Lyceum Club in 1892. Her work was again exhibited at the Toronto Lyceum Club in 1967. [8] Barker Fairley exhibited at the Lyceum Club, Women's Art Association, Toronto in 1972. [9]
  2. ↑ The WAAC and the National Council of Women of Canada were among a number of Women's organizations founded around this time and run by exceptionally capable women, others being the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (IODE), the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), the Girls' Friendly Society of Canada, the Dominion Women's Enfranchisement Association, Women's Institutes and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). [15]
  3. ↑ The Montreal WAAC was a precursor of the Canadian Handicrafts Guild. The same women were involved in both organizations. [21] The Handicrafts Guild, led by Alice Peck and May Phillips, was incorporated in 1906. [22]
  4. ↑ Carr noted in her diary on 19 October 1935 "I have known for some days that I was to have an exhibition at the "Woman's Art." I felt a little thrilled about this—a chance to see if my work means anything to the outside world." [34] The Saturday Night review of her showing at the WAAC at 23 Prince Arthur Avenue was enthusiastic, saying, "She paints quickly and with a fierceness and passion that are completely convincing. Her technique is astonishing... there is in her work, despite its strength and dynamic movement, a joyous quality reminiscent of the early work of Vlaminck..." [35]

Citations

  1. ↑ Mckillop 2011, p. 57.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mckillop 2011, p. 58.
  3. 1 2 3 Lerner & Williamson 1991, p. 24.
  4. ↑ McClelland 1993, p. 84.
  5. 1 2 3 Gallery Rentals, Women's Art Association of Canada.
  6. ↑ MCGEOCH, Lillian Jean, Concordia.
  7. ↑ Charlotte Mount Brock Schreiber, Archive Canada.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Mary Ella Dignam, Celebrating Women's Achievements.
  9. ↑ Lyceum Club and Women's Art Association of Pbo, Trent U.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Holmlund & Youngberg 2003, p. 216.
  11. 1 2 History, WAAC.
  12. ↑ Huneault & Anderson 2012, p. 39.
  13. 1 2 McLeod 1999, p. 38.
  14. ↑ Lerner & Williamson 1991, p. 207.
  15. ↑ Mckillop 2011, p. 59.
  16. 1 2 Women's Art Association of Canada, CMH.
  17. ↑ Lerner & Williamson 1991, p. 271.
  18. ↑ About Us, Women's Art Society of Montreal.
  19. ↑ McLeod 1999, p. 65.
  20. ↑ McLeod 1999, p. 140.
  21. ↑ WAAC, Winnipeg Branch.
  22. ↑ Holmlund & Youngberg 2003, p. 84.
  23. ↑ Butts & Stensson 2012, p. 18.
  24. ↑ Butts & Stensson 2012, p. 25.
  25. ↑ Butts & Stensson 2012, p. 26.
  26. ↑ Butts & Stensson 2012, p. 29.
  27. 1 2 Lyceum Club and WAAC - St. Thomas.
  28. ↑ Presidents, WAAC.
  29. 1 2 Home, Women's Art Association of Canada.
  30. ↑ McClelland 1993, p. 86.
  31. ↑ Butts & Stensson 2012, p. 27.
  32. ↑ Carr 1966, p. 201.
  33. ↑ Carr 1966, p. 210.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.