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UMI* A New Matrix of the Arts: A History of the Professionalization of Canadian Women Artists, 1880-1914 Susan Butlin, M.A. School of Canadian Studies Carleton University, Ottawa A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 2008 © Susan Butlin, 2008 Library and Archives Biblioth&que et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de ('Edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your Tile Votre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-60128-0 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-60128-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduce, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lntemet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimis ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada Abstract This dissertation investigates the careers of a number of women, all born or residing in Canada, who were active as professional artists/entrepreneurs, painters, sculptors, illustrators and craft artists, both in Canada and abroad, between 1880 and 1914. The professional lives of many of the artists in the study group exemplified a new approach for women to the independent and active organization and promotion of their own careers. Implementing the theoretical writing of feminist art historians such as Griselda Pollock, this study demonstrates how the artists of the study group resisted gendered restrictions in art practice, including the gendering of criticism, subject matter rules, and other professional barriers. In their aspirations to lead self-determined, professional lives as independent single women, artists such as Laura Muntz, Sydney Strickland Tully, Harriet Ford, Elizabeth McGillivray Knowles, and Florence Carlyle were champions of a new ideal for women's working and private lives. The characteristics of their lives were those of the New Woman. During their lifetimes they contributed to a new model of the artistic professional in Canada, and in addition were modern role models for all Canadian women aspiring to a career. This study initiates a comparative analysis of the professional art practices of the study group artists. It examines how the artists of the study group reacted to the challenges and opportunities of the time, to train, to establish a professional practice, run a studio, decide on what to produce and how to market the results to the public. I begin by charting the areas of education and the climate of professionalism. Subsequent chapters focus on identity, political engagement, and marriage and partnership choices. The second half of the thesis focuses on the studio, art production and exhibiting strategies, dealers and ii clients, and critical reception. This research reveals how many Canadian women artists of the era expanded their art practice into areas that were traditionally dominated by men The study has unearthed a previously unexplored and unacknowledged diversity of art production by the study group artists; a diversity that includes both "high" and "low" art forms. These artists worked not only as painters and sculptors, but obtained commercial commissions as muralists, interior decorators, editors, and founders of arts-related magazines, business franchises, and schools, as illustrators, writers, and cartoonists, and in the applied and craft arts as potters, jewelry, fabric, and furniture designers, makers, and entrepreneurs. iii Acknowledgements It is a great pleasure to acknowledge all those who have contributed to the writing of this dissertation. Let me begin by warmly thanking my supervisor and committee members, John Wadland, Angela Carr, and Barbara Freeman, for their wise criticisms, and insightful suggestions. Their encouragement, both academic and personal, throughout this degree has kept me going during some of the most trying periods. I owe a debt of gratitude to the late Natalie Luckyj, who was the Director of the School of Canadian Studies. I thank Natalie for believing in me and sharing my vision for this dissertation. My warm thanks also to Frangois Rocher for his encouragement. To Mary Casaubon for her kindness and many years of guidance, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks. Many helpful people associated with archives, libraries, and art societies in Canada, and abroad also deserve to be recognized for their kind assistance. In Ottawa thanks are due the staff at both Library and Archives Canada and at the library and archives of the National Gallery of Canada. I am delighted to acknowledge the assistance of Raymond Peringer of the Arts and Letters Club, Toronto, Peter Fyvie and Kim Diamond at the Granite Club, and Lynn Cumine of the Lyceum Club and WAAC. Many thanks also to Linda Cobon at the CNE archives and to Amy Marshall Furness at the AGO archives in Toronto. Warm thanks are due to Margaret Thompson and Patricia Garrow, and the teachers a Havergal College who opened their archives to me. Thanks too are due the Andrea Budgey, Victoria Drysdale, and the parish ladies of St. Simon's Church who kindly allowed me access to their archives, and provided encouragement and shared their soup with a cold and hungry researcher. iv Thanks are due to W. Glen Curnoe at the London Public Library. I owe a debt of gratitude to the late Florence Carlyle Johnston for sharing her family archives. At the Woodstock Art Gallery my heartfelt thanks to Maria Ricker, Anna-Marie Larsen, and other staff for their kind assistance. Thanks also to Marian MacCausland. I would like to express my thanks to Melissa De Medieros at the Knoedler Galleries in New York City, and to Debra Randorf of The New York Historical Society. I am grateful for the assistance of Heather Lemonedes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Pat Lynagh at the Library of the National Museum of American Art, and Cornelia Moynihan at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington. Thanks also to Timothy Murray, at the University of Delaware Library, Special Collections, for his generosity. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Matthew Borden for his painstaking copy-editing, encouragement and wonderful jokes. For moral support and commiseration during the long years of work that are part of any dissertation, I would like to thank my friends and colleagues, Donica Belisle, Katie Cholette, Louisa Coats, Susan DesRoches, Ron Dicks, Francesca L'Orfano, Marika Morris, and Jean Murray. My family will be pleased to know that yes, it is done now and no, I am no longer in school. I would like to express my gratitude to my husband, Derek Smith, for his love and encouragement, and for his sterling work with my illustrations and other visual presentations. I wish to thank my late husband, Dr. George Butlin Ph.D., for his intellectual inspiration and unstinting support. The love and support of both my parents played a crucial role in my academic achievements. I thank my sisters and brother for their encouragement. Special thanks to Trish for her support and enthusiasm for my work. This dissertation is dedicated to my mother, Rose Cartwright, who instilled her own love of history in all her six children. v For my mother Rose Cartwright with love and gratitude Every image of the past that is not recognized by the present as one of its own concerns, threatens to disappear irretrievably. Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) "Theses on the Philosophy of History," Illuminations VI Table of Contents Page Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv Dedication vi Table of Contents vii List of Illustrations viii List of Appendices xi List of Abbreviations xii Introduction 1 Chapter 1. Social Background and Education 30 Chapter 2. The Climate of Professionalism 66 Chapter 3. The Politics of Professional Practice: Identity, the New Woman, and Women's Societies 110 Chapter 4. With Mixed Results: Marriage and Partnerships 149 Chapter 5. The Studio Space 189 Chapter 6. "The Genre Attracts Her:" Production and Diversity 228 Chapter 7. The Balance Sheet of Business: Exhibition and Sales 270 Conclusion 315 Illustrations 324 Appendix 1. Study Group Biographies and References 339 Bibliography 361 Vll List of Illustrations Introduction: A-l Photograph (1888-89) of Mary Hiester Reid in her studio at 65 Boulevard Arago, Paris. Photograph by George A. Reid. Source: AGO Archives. A-2 Photograph (cl924) of Elizabeth McGillivray Knowles. Well known for her paintings of chickens, her easel is set in the yard beside a chicken-coop.