Images of Girlhood

Picturing Her: Images of Girlhood The complete texts of the exhibition Presented at the McCord Museum From November 25, 2005 to March 26, 2006 Table of Content Introduction 3 1. Myths and Allegories 4 2. Spaces and Places 8 2.1 Domestic Spaces 9 2.2 Reading at Home 11 2.3 Play Spaces 14 2.4 At School 17 2.5 At the Orphanage 20 2.6 Work Spaces 22 2.7 Contemporary Spaces 24 3. Minds and Bodies 26 4. Autobiographical Expressions 31 2 Picturing Her! Images of Girlhood. McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2005. Introduction No longer children but not quite women, girls are at an in-between stage in life. How do artists depict these special years, and how have their depictions changed through time? The paintings, drawings, prints and photographs in this exhibition, which portray Canadian girls from the nineteenth century to the present, reveal how artists not only reflect ideas of what a girl is, but actively participate in creating new visions – some restrictive, some liberating. Ongoing changes in economic conditions, social attitudes and cultural trends influence the meaning of girlhood and, as a consequence, representations of girls. As society invests Her with new beliefs, desires, fantasies and expectations, both what it means to be a girl and artistic expressions of Her experience are constantly evolving. 3 Picturing Her! Images of Girlhood. McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2005. 1. Myths and Allegories Ideologies have always been expressed through images of the female body. In Canada, the idea of girls as inherently good, strong and capable of healthy growth has been particularly appealing. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Canada was a young country, artists often employed the metaphor of a girl to define the status of the new nation and its relation to Mother England. In allegorical scenes and mythical tales, girls have personified the hopes and struggles of nationhood. Conversely, political cartoons have used the same symbol to satirize national attitudes and comment on current events. The Dominion of Canada John Henry Walker (1831-1899) About 1867 Graphite and sepia ink on paper Gift of David Ross McCord McCord Museum, M930.50.6.6 The Dominion of Canada is shown as a girl wearing a tiara and holding a sceptre. She stands on the Canadian shore, embodying the Confederation of 1867. Other girls, symbolizing the provinces, bear gifts representing Canada’s natural resources and industries. The Irish-born John Henry Walker came to Montreal in 1842, and by 1850 had established himself as a painter and printmaker. His firm illustrated books, catalogues and such magazines as the Canadian Illustrated News, the Dominion Illustrated, L’Opinion publique and Le Monde illustré. The Various Provinces Welcoming Princess Louise (reproduction) Henri Julien (1852-1908) Published in L’Opinion publique, February 12, 1880 Photolithograph Gift of Colin McMichael McCord Museum, M984.306.1027 The provinces, portrayed as girls, welcome Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848-1939), the daughter of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). As patrons of the arts and artists, Princess Louise and her husband John Douglas Sutherland Campbell (1845-1914), Marquess of Lorne and Governor General of Canada, founded the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Henri Julien, born in Quebec City, worked as an engraver and lithographer with the Desbarats printing firm in Montreal, where he also learned drawing and painting. He was employed by the Canadian Illustrated News, L’Opinion publique and the Dominion Illustrated, and served as art director of the Montreal Daily Star. Clamouring for the Fancy Doll John Wilson Bengough (1851-1923) Published in Grip, December 7, 1878 Photoengraving Gift of Dr. Raymond Boyer McCord Museum, M994X.5.273.207 4 Picturing Her! Images of Girlhood. McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2005. The Reform Party is depicted here as a young girl being offered a doll that resembles Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie (1822-1892). The girl reaches for another doll, but is told to be content with the one she already has. John Wilson Bengough, born in Toronto, worked as a cartoonist, editor, publisher, author, entertainer and politician. He founded, edited and published Grip, a Toronto satirical weekly that was a showcase for his political cartoons and commentary. A Pertinent Question (reproduction) Anonymous 1886 Photoengraving Gift of Dr. Raymond Boyer McCord Museum, M994X.5.273.42 Mrs. Britannia accuses her daughter, Miss Canada, of encouraging a union with her American cousin Jonathan. The possible annexation of Canada by the United States was a matter of concern for both Britain and Canada in the 1880s. The cartoon refers to Canada’s aborted attempts to renew the Reciprocity Treaty with the United States, which had doubled trade between the two countries. Dolce Far Niente: The Government of Quebec During Recess Henri Julien (1852-1908) Published in L’Opinion publique, January 27, 1877 Photolithograph Gift of Colin McMichael McCord Museum, M988.182.144 Miss Quebec reclines in a pose of dolce far niente - pleasant idleness – occasioned by the government recess. The government’s leaders, pictured as little boys with butterfly wings lounging in shells, are evidently making the best of their vacation. The pre-Raphaelite look of the female figure and the main title have been borrowed from an 1866 painting by the British artist William Holman Hunt (1827-1910). Three Fairies Playing Instruments Elizabeth A. McGillivray Knowles (1866-1928) 1909-1910 Open sketchbook Graphite on paper McCord Museum, M994X.5.249.16 Enchanting, girl-like fairies play a harp and wind instruments. In poems and stories about fairies, popular during the Victorian era, they were often associated with the spiritual qualities of the land and the nation. Ottawa-born Elizabeth A. McGillivray studied art in Toronto with F. McGillivray Knowles, whom she later married. She was recognized for her paintings of poultry, domestic animals and farm scenes. Hail Dominion (reproduction) Gustav Hahn (1866-1962) 1906 Oil on burlap Royal Canadian Academy of Arts diploma work, deposited by the artist, Toronto, 1906 National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 53 5 Picturing Her! Images of Girlhood. McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2005. Hail Dominion is an oil study for part of a design for a mural, Canada Receiving the Homage of Her Children, proposed by eight artists for the entrance hall of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. “Canada” embraces her young provincial daughters, posed casually around her in a way that suggests a close family. Hahn’s daughters Freya and Hilda, shown in the pastel study, posed for this work. Gustav Hahn, born in Reutlingen, Germany, studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule, in Stuttgart, and in Munich and Italy before emigrating to Canada. He painted murals for private residences, churches and the legislative building in Toronto, as well as serving as head of the department of interior design at the Toronto Art School (now the Ontario College of Art and Design). Study for Hail Dominion Gustave Hahn (1866-1962) 1906 Sanguine, pastel and graphite on paper Private collection Baby Girl Angels Gustave Hahn (1866-1962) 1890s Open sketchbook Graphite on paper Private collection The allegorical female figures in Hahn’s mural decorations were sometimes accompanied by putti, symbolizing love, innocence and hope. Gustav Hahn’s baby daughter Freya was the model for these sketches of putti. Do it Again Daddy Please! Buy Me a Victory Bond Joseph Ernest Sampson (1887-1946) About 1918 Poster – black and coloured ink on paper Gift of Barbara Bate McCord Museum, M985.216.29 A girl begs her father to buy more Victory Bonds and so raise money for the war effort. She represents innocent people affected by the war, urgently in need of protection. Joseph Ernest Sampson, born in Liverpool, England, attended the Liverpool School of Art and the Académie Julian in Paris before emigrating to Toronto. A portrait and landscape painter, he worked for the Canadian War Records Office in 1918 and was president of Sampson-Matthews Ltd., a Toronto advertising firm. Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon (1880-1913) Paris, Éditions Mornay, 1933 (limited edition) Coloured wood-block illustrations by Clarence Gagnon (1881-1942) Bibliothèque nationale du Québec – Collection des livres d’artistes et des ouvrages de bibliophilie Maria Chapdelaine tells the story of a young woman living on a remote Quebec farm who has three suitors – a lumberjack and trapper, a factory worker and a farmer. The artist Clarence Gagnon stated that his purpose in illustrating Maria Chapdelaine was “to catch the spirit of Canada and the French-Canadian way of life which the book immortalizes.” 6 Picturing Her! Images of Girlhood. McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2005. Louis Hémon, a writer and translator, was born in Brest, France. He came to Canada in 1911, and was working as a farm hand in Péribonka, Quebec, when he wrote Maria Chapdelaine. In 1914, a year after Hémon was killed in a train accident, the story was published to considerable acclaim in the Paris paper Le Temps. Clarence Gagnon, born in Montreal, studied with William Brymner at the Art Association of Montreal and in Paris at the Académie Julian. Gagnon is well known for his village scenes of Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec. He was living in Paris when he illustrated Maria Chapdelaine. 7 Picturing Her! Images of Girlhood. McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2005. 2. Spaces and Places From the mid- to late nineteenth century, the house was the space most closely associated with girlhood. Girls were expected to stay at home, where they were taught how to be good wives and mothers. For the bourgeoisie, the feminine ideal required daughters to bring honour to the family by being virtuous and versed in literary and artistic culture. William Notman’s studio pictures of girls are idealized representations of this cloistered world.

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