Paul Peel | Academic painter

Paul Peel (1860-1892) was a Canadian academic painter. Having won a medal at the 1890 Paris Salon, he became one of the first Canadian artists to receive international recognition in his lifetime.

Peel was born in London, Ontario, and received his art training from his father from a young age.

Later he studied under William Lees Judson and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Thomas Eakins.

Genevieve Blais | Art history in the Time of Covid-19

"We could all use a smile in lieu of recent events, so I decided to update art history for 2020" - Genevieve Blais.

Canadian artist🎨 reimagined famous paintings to see what they’d look like if they were painted during the Coronavirus Crisis.

Danielle Richard | Romantic Realism painter

Danielle Richard is a contemporary painter based in Quebec City, Canada, where she was born and educated.

Very early in life, she was fascinated by the world of pictorial art. For as long as she can remember, she has always been surrounded by the tools “for making works of art”: gouache, distemper, pastels, etc. Upon reaching adolescence, she wasted no time deciding on her future... “I loved painting and it seemed only natural for me to become an artist!”

After a college degree in Fine Arts, Cegep Ste-Foy, 1975 she earned a Bachelor's degree in Visual Arts from Université Laval in 1980.

She had her first solo exhibition in 1975 and has had numerous solo and group shows since then.

Lui Liu 刘溢, 1957 | Surrealist painter

Lui Liu 刘溢 was born in North China and came to Canada in 1991. Speaking both Chinese and English fluently, Lui Liu possesses superb painterly techniques, his unique language that finds a wide range of audience around the world.

His acquisition of techniques started during China's Cultural Revolution when he was a young boy painting posters on the streets and continued in the most prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

Leonard Cohen / Fabian Perez | The Stranger Song

It's true that all the men you knew were dealers

Who said they were through with dealing

Every time you gave them shelter

I know that kind of man.

It's hard to hold the hand of anyone

Who is reaching for the sky just to surrender.

E’ vero che tutti gli uomini che conoscevi

erano giocatori che dicevano di averne abbastanza

di giocare a carte ogni volta che davi loro un riparo.

Lo conosco, quel genere di uomini.

E’ difficile tenere le mani di qualcuno

che le alza al cielo soltanto per arrendersi.

Claude Théberge (1934-2008) | Abstract painter

The career of Claude Théberge provides a prime example of how time works in magical and often unforeseen ways…

This Canadian painter🎨, a graduate of Quebec City’s École des Beaux-Arts, won bursaries from both the Canada Arts Council and the Quebec Government and attended the greatest art and design schools in France.

He captured the top prize in a United Nations competition involving 65.000 graphic artists from throughout the world.

Helen McNicoll (1879-1915) Impressionist painter

Helen Galloway McNicoll was a Canadian🎨 impressionist painter. She was one of the most notable female artists in Canada in the early twentieth century and achieved considerable internal success during her decade-long career.

She played an important role in popularizing Impressionism in Canada at a time when it was still relatively unknown.

McNicoll was born in Toronto to an affluent family. Her parents were David McNicoll and Emily Pashley.

McNicoll became deaf in early childhood due to scarlet fever, and as a result, focused her energies on playing the piano and developing a keenly observant eye.

As a young woman, she attended the Art Association of Montreal, beginning her studies under William Brymner in 1899.

In 1902, she moved to England to study in London at the Slade School under Philip Wilson Steer. At the Slade, students were encouraged to paint en plein air.

Later, McNicoll studied in St Ives, Cornwall with Algernon Talmage, where she met Dorothea Sharp, a fellow artist who became a lifelong friend.

McNicoll and Sharp traveled together to France and Italy sharing studio space, and posing for each other's paintings.

A member of the Royal Society of British Artists and an associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, McNicoll died in Swanage, Dorset, at the early age of thirty six. An obituary described her as "one of the most profoundly original and technically accomplished of Canadian artists".

The Art Gallery of Ontario hosted an exhibition of McNicoll's work in 1999.

Although she had relocated to England, during her lifetime McNicoll kept close ties to Canada, and her work was exhibited at the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts from 1906-1914.

Her work was also exhibited at the Ontario Society of Artists from 1910-1915 and at the AAM in 1906; 1908-1912; 1914-1915; 1922 and 1925.

After her election as a member of the Royal Society of British Artists, her work was exhibited from 1913-1915.

The Art Association of Montreal held a memorial show featuring 141 of her paintings in 1925. | © Wikipedia

Robert Harris (Welsh-born Canadian painter, 1849-1919) | Helen McNicoll, 1910 | Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

Helen Galloway McNicoll (14 dicembre 1879 - 27 giugno 1915) era un pittore impressionista Canadese🎨.

Fu una delle più importanti artiste femminili in Canada all'inizio del XX secolo ed ottenne un notevole successo durante la sua decennale carriera.

Ha svolto un ruolo importante nel diffondere l'impressionismo in Canada in un momento in cui era ancora relativamente sconosciuto.

McNicoll è nato a Toronto da una famiglia benestante. I suoi genitori erano David McNicoll ed Emily Pashley.

McNicoll è diventata sorda nella prima infanzia a causa della scarlattina e, di conseguenza, ha concentrato le sue energie nel suonare il piano e nello sviluppare un occhio acutamente attento.

Da giovane, frequentò l'Associazione artistica di Montreal, iniziando gli studi con William Brymner nel 1899.

Nel 1902, si trasferì in Inghilterra per studiare a Londra presso la Slade School sotto la direzione di Philip Wilson Steer.

Alla Slade, gli studenti sono stati incoraggiati a dipingere il plein air.

Più tardi, McNicoll ha studiato in St Ives, Cornovaglia con Algernon Talmage, dove ha incontrato Dorothea Sharp, un'artista che è diventata amica per tutta la vita.

McNicoll e Sharp hanno viaggiato insieme in Francia ed in Italia condividendo lo spazio dello studio e posando per i reciproci dipinti.

Membro della Royal Society of British Artists e socio della Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, McNicoll morì a Swanage, nel Dorset, all'età di trentasei anni.

Un necrologio la descrisse come "uno degli artisti canadesi profondamente originali e tecnicamente realizzati".

Helena Lam | Art Déco painter

The artwork of Helena Lam Chinese-born Canadian painter from Hong Kong, is inspired by the Art Déco era. This is a design style that blossomed in Paris in the 1920's and flourished internationally throughout the 1930's, into the World War II era.

The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture, interior design, industrial design, fashion, jewellery as well as the visual arts such as painting, graphic arts and film. At it's zenith, Art Déco embodied elegance, glamour, functionality and modernity.