NOTE TO USERS The original manuscript received by UMI contains broken, slanted and or light print. All efforts were made to acquire the highest quality manuscript from the author or school. Microfilmed as received. This reproduction is the best copy available UMI (RE)CONSTRUCTINGTHE FEMININE IN ART WRITING: THE CANADIAN MAGAZINE MAYFAIR IN THE 1950s MEAGEIAN EMILY CLARKE, B.A. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Carleton University OTTAWA Ontario June 12, 1996 Q copyright 1996. Meaghan Ernily Clarke National Library Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services sewices bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 OttawaON K1AON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. (Re)comtmcting the Femznine in Art Wn'ting: The Crmadan Mwne M&air in the 1950s Meaghan Ernily Clarke In the 1970s Linda Nochiin began to investigate the placement of women in the art histoncal canon. Since then scholars have fomulated strategies for evaluating the role of women in art. However, scholarship has rarely investigated the reception of Canadian women within the sphere of art criticism. This thesis focuses on art writing in general interest magazines as a methodology for reviewing the histoncal narrative. The purpose of this thesis is to determine the recognition of women in the arts, as artias and cntics, in Canadian magazines from 1930 until 1960. Initially, this will involve a survey of Maflair( 1927- 196 1) as the primary document, and the joumals, Saturda~Nigh~, Chatelaine and Canadian Forum during the thirties and forties. This serves as a framework for a comparative analysis of the art writing published in Mavfair and Sanirda~ Night dunng the 1950s. In addition to evaluating the tea itself, this investigation encompasses social and cultural facets including an examination of the context of the art material in the joumals in the form of articles and advertising. This more inclusive method of analysis contributes to our understanding of the production and consumption of general interest magazines and their positioning of women in Canadian art history. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost 1 would like to thank Dr. Angela Carr for her insight, encouragement, support and patience. Also, 1 thank the faculty of the Art History Graduate Department for their input in the initial stages and suppon throughout. Additionally, 1 am grateful to Mr. Robert Fufford for his idormative contributions as former Assistant-Editor and art columnist of Mayfair magazine. 1 also graciousiy acknowledge my colleagues, fnends and family for their input and encouragement over the past year. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Abstract ............................................................. ri S.. Acknowledgements . III Table of Contents . iv ListofPlates .................,.......................................v Introduction ......................................................... 1 Women as Wnters on the Arts: Analysing the Stereotypes . 22 Women in Art Writing: Mavfair and Saturdav Ninht in the 1950s . 57 "Happy Housewives": Contextualking Fifties Art Writing . 10 1 Conclusion ..........,............................................. 129 Plates ............................................................ 232 Appendix 1. An Analytical Table of Art Wi-iting in Mavfair Magazine, 1927- 1957 . 144 Bibliography ....................................................... 159 LIST OF PLATES Plate 1 .Yvome McKague Housser. Indian Childien ai Kbitefish .............. 132 Plate 2 .Gabriel Metsu. "CoverPainting" ................................. 133 Plate 3 .Paul Duval. "Lady in the Background" ............................. 134 Plate 4 .Elizabeth Hay Trott. "SheBakes Beauty on Copper" .................. 135 Plate 5 .Robert Fulford. "The Modem Artist Who Has Painted for Half a Century" . 136 Plate 6 ."Fine Art and Fashion" ......................................... 137 Plate 7 .Ruth Bowen, "Picture Gallery Home" ............................. 138 Plate 8 .John Robert Powers. "Powers on Beauty VII: What women want to know about weight control" ............... 139 Plate 9 ."Eaton's of Canada Decoration for Living" .......................... 140 Plate 10 ."Nemo's Advertisement" ...................................... 141 Plate 11 .Marion McCormick, "Full Life With Family" ....................... 142 Plate 12 ."Why Can't You Write?" ...................................... 143 Introduction This thesis focuses on the reception of women as artists and cobeaors as evidenced by the writings of both male and femaie critics in the pages of the Canadian women's magazine Maflair, published between 1927, when it was founded to target a high society audience, and 196 1 by which time it had shifled its emphasis to fashion and travel. Maflair was a medium of mass communication during the thirties, forties and mies. As a woman's magazine it was accessible to a segment of society largely excluded both fiom traditional art joumals and hman art world dominated by men. In readership Mayfair competed with newspaper women's pages and the society pages of Saturday Ni~ht,'another Toronto-based Canadian magrnenefor a general readership. The latter paralleled Mayfair's three decade existence and covered a variety of subjects including the ans. Because it was directed to both men and wornen, its contents provide a relevant counterpoint to the art writing of Mayfair targeted at a female audience. An initial survey of art wnting published in Mavfair dunng the 1950s would indicate that this is an invaluable source of information about women active in the arts during the decade. hlakfair's an coverage had fiouished in regular art columns featunng women artists, collectors and volunteers. However, a more thorough reading of this matenal, its context and its history, presents a vanety of subsequent issues. Firstly, one must consider the art writing in non-specialist penodicals during the 1930s and 1940s which predated the emergence of Maflair as an essential source of art cnticism. During the 1920s, through 'Fraser Sutherland. _The: A AOTV of Cl- 1789- 1 989 (Markham: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 1989), p. 248. 2 the creation of the new publications Canadian Forum, Maflair, and Chatelaine, journalism evolved in terms of the number of publications addressing art-related topics. The art content in Mayfair included society news, portraits and coming exhibitions, while Chatelaine published occasional articles in the arts. By 1930, both Saturdav Ni& and Canadian Fomm were producing regular art columns written by women. Over two decades the formats of these periodicals altered and the publication of art writing shifted to Mayfair and Saturday Night. Of al1 the journals listed by Mary F. Williamson and Karen Mackenzie in The Art and Pictonal Press in Canada one might wonder why Mayfair was chosen as the pnmary document of this study rather than better known examples like Saturdav and Canadian Forum. Unlike the general interest penodicals of the period, Mayfair magazine was unique in its publication of art criticism targeting a fernale readership, thereby recognizing women artists within a document celebrating ferninine popular culture. The decision to focus on the acknowledgement of women in art writing as a methodology for rereading and reconstmcting the histoncal narrative flows fiom the strategies proposed by feminist art historians, \I ho have advocated the integration of a critical analysis of representation with a broader sociological account of the conditions and institutions of production as well as an understanding of the reception of the resulting texts.' This concept is fundamental to a feminist reconstmction of historical narrative. One cannot understand women's art history without an understanding of the social conventions '~eefor example. Janet Woiff, B.,(Cambridge: Polity Press. 1990). pp. 5. 1 13. irnposed upon women during any particular histoncal moment or how attitudes afEected the reception of women, an issue ofien reflected in the writing of the period. In 1971 Linda Nochlin questioned why women artists were excluded fkorn the an historical canon.' The answer from feminist scholars was to expose the social conventions of the penod that confined the role of women within stereotypes. Also significant was the way women's understanding of the world was conditioned by those expectations, in particular the woman's perception was fiarned by what she read. For example Griselda Pollock listed arnongst the 'ideological baggage' of a nineteenth century femde visitor to the Royal Academy, conceptual notions denved from illustrated newspapers, periodical magazines, etiquette