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James Wilson Morrice

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James Wilson Morrice
Born(1865-08-10)August 10, 1865
Montreal,Canada East
DiedJanuary 23, 1924(1924-01-23)(aged 58)
Tunis,Tunisia
EducationAcadémie Julian
Known forPainter
Notable workProw of a Gondola, Venice
MovementPost Impressionism

James Wilson MorriceRCA(August 10, 1865 – January 23, 1924) was one of the first Canadian landscape painters to be known internationally. In 1891, he moved toParis,France,where he lived for most of his career.W. Somerset Maughamknew him and had one of his characters say,

...when you've seen his sketches...you can never see Paris in the same way again.[1]

In Canada, James Morrice Street in New Bordeaux,Ahuntsic-Cartierville,Montrealis named in his memory.

Biography[edit]

Morrice was born inMontreal,Canada East,the son of a merchant, and studied law inTorontofrom 1882 to 1889. In 1890 he left to study painting in England. The next year he arrived in Paris, where he studied at theAcadémie Julianfrom 1892 to 1897.[2]At the Académie Julian, he befriendedCharles ConderandMaurice Prendergast,and also metRobert Henri.Also in 1896, he began to paint his small sketches on wooden panels, called "pochades".[3]He then took lessons at the atelier ofHenri Harpignies,who encouraged his students to painten plein air.

Morrice continued to live in Paris until theFirst World War,although he spent most of his winters in Canada and travelled widely abroad. He was influenced by the art work he saw in Paris such as theFauvesat the 1905 Salon d'Automne,[4](which he participated in)[5]while also remaining in touch with the Canadian art world. He joined theCanadian Art Clubin Toronto (1907).

During this period he was also in contact with the literary milieu, with English expatriate intellectuals living in Paris, such asW. Somerset Maugham,Arnold Bennett,andClive Bell.In 1911, he wroteEdmund Morristhat there was excitement in London over thePost-Impressionismexhibition. As he wrote,

Everybody laughed and jeered but with a few exceptions it consisted of good things - art that will last.[6]

In the winters of 1912 and 1912-1913, he stayed inTangiers.His second trip coincided with a trip byMatissewhom he met and with whom he exchanged ideas about art. He was elected an honorary non-resident member of theRoyal Canadian Academyin 1913.[7]

With the advent of World War I, Morrice went to Montreal, and then toCuba.There he began to succumb toalcoholism.The output of his last period is uneven and infrequent. In the summer of 1922 he travelled toAlgiers,where he painted withAlbert Marquet.This would be the last time that he painted, as his health began to rapidly deteriorate. He died, aged 58, inTunis.

Gallery[edit]

Morrice's paintings before the turn of the century are thinly painted and inspired byWhistler,both in sentiment and in treatment of colour. Just prior to World War I he began to paint, in a thicker style, winter Canadian scenes influenced by theImpressionistsand particularly byMaurice Cullen,whom he met in 1897.[8]In 1905, he would have seen Fauvist paintings in theSalon d'Automneand been influenced by their pure, bright hues.[9]Some of his works during his Caribbean period are considered his best and are painted in a loose style influenced byPost-Impressionismand suggest artists such asMatisse.

He is noted for his sense of observation and ability to distill the essence of what he saw in his work, often in "pochades", little sketches. Morrice's images of café culture, or other public gatherings, including seasonal "fêtes," regatta or circus scenes, remain unique in Canadian art ", as one curator writes.[10]"The artist with the delicate eye", Matisse called him in 1925.[11]

Recognition and legacy[edit]

In 1958, works by Morrice along with those ofJacques de Tonnancour,Anne KahaneandJack Nicholsrepresented Canada at theVenice Biennale.[12]

TheMontreal Museum of Fine Artsis one of the two main repositories of his work along with theNational Gallery of Canada.Montrealers David Rousseau Morrice (1903-1978) and F. Eleanore Morrice (1901-1981) willed to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts many works of art they had collected during their lives, published asA Montreal Collection: Gift From Eleanore and David Morriceand exhibited at the Museum in 1983.[13]Several significant gifts have enhanced the National Gallery's collection, enhanced by major publications such asCharles C. Hill'sMorrice A Gift to the Nation The G. Blair Laing Collection(1992). In 2016,Ash K. Prakashgave the National Gallery a major collection of Morrice, which the National Gallery exhibited asJames Wilson Morrice: The A.K. Prakash Collection in Trust to the Nation(2017) and travelled nationally (2018-2019).[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^W. Somerset Maugham,The Magician(orig. pub. 1908) (Penguin Books, 1967, p. 27).
  2. ^biographi.ca
  3. ^Dorais, Lucie."Works".cowleyabbott.ca.Cowley Abbott Auction, Session 1 Important Canadian & International Art December 6th, 2023.RetrievedOctober 27,2023.
  4. ^Dorais, Lucie."Article".cowleyabbott.ca.Cowley Abbott Auction, Session 1 Important Canadian & International Art December 6th, 2023.RetrievedJuly 3,2023.
  5. ^Dorais, Lucie."Works".cowleyabbott.ca.Cowley Abbott Auction, Session 1 Important Canadian & International Art December 6th, 2023.RetrievedOctober 27,2023.
  6. ^Murray, Joan (2002).The Birth of the Modern: Post-Impressionism in Canadian Art, 1900-1920.Oshawa: Robert McLaughlin Gallery. p. n.p.RetrievedFebruary 22,2022.
  7. ^McMann, Evelyn (1981).Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.Toronto: University of Toronto Press.RetrievedJune 3,2022.
  8. ^Murray 2002,p. 117.
  9. ^Dorais, Lucie."Works".cowleyabbott.ca.Cowley Abbott Auction, Important Canadian & International Art, December 6th, 2023.RetrievedOctober 27,2023.
  10. ^Atanassova, Katerina."Article".gallery.ca.National Gallery of Canada Magazine March 1, 2022.RetrievedApril 1,2024.
  11. ^Murray 2002,p. 118.
  12. ^"Past Canadian Exhibitions".National Gallery of Canada at the Venice Biennale.National Gallery of Canada. Archived fromthe originalon October 13, 2013.RetrievedOctober 12,2013.
  13. ^A Montreal Collection: Gift From Eleanore and David Morrice.Concordia University, Montreal. 1983.RetrievedFebruary 23,2022.
  14. ^"James W Morrice: the A. K. Prakash Collection in trust to the nation".gallery.ca.National Gallery of Canada.RetrievedFebruary 23,2022.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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