Edmund Montague Morris, known as Edmund Morris (1871-1913), was a Canadian painter and pastelist who recorded the

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

in paint and photographs and collected their artifacts (today in the collection of the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

in Toronto along with 60 portraits by him which formerly belonged to the Ontario government collection). He was the son of Alexander Morris, Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. He both co-founded the

Canadian Art Club The Canadian Art Club was an artists' group established in Toronto in 1907 to advance the standards of Canadian art exhibitions and to exhibit the work of distinguished Canadian artists, particularly those who had studied abroad or lived there. It ...

and authored an early book on Canadian art, ''Art in Canada: the early painters'' (1911?).

Biography

Morris was born on December 18, 1871, in

Perth, Ontario Perth is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Tay River, southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County. History The town was established as a military settlement in 1816, shortly after the War of 1812. The settlement ...

. He lived at Fort Garry (Winnipeg), Manitoba, from 1872 to 1878 and then moved to Toronto where he attended Toronto Collegiate Institute. He later studied art under William Cruikshank. In the United States, he studied at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

. In Europe he attended the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

and the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

in Paris (1893-1895). Morris settled in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in 1896. His contemporaries included

William Brymner William Brymner, (December 14, 1855 – June 18, 1925) was a Canadian figure and landscape painter and educator. In addition to playing a key role in the development of Impressionism in Canada, Brymner taught numerous artists who became leadin ...

, Maurice Cullen and

Edmond Dyonnet Edmond Dyonnet was a painter and photographer, born French and a naturalised Canadian. He taught numerous students in Quebec province and was an academician and secretary of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1910-1947), author of a history of t ...

, among others. He won a bronze medal at the

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1901 for his ''Girls in a Poppy Field'' (

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Beve ...

, Toronto). In 1905, Morris held a one-person show in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

featuring portraits of Plains chiefs that he painted from photographs. In 1906 he was invited to accompany the government expedition headed by

Duncan Campbell Scott Duncan Campbell Scott (August 2, 1862 – December 19, 1947) was a Canadian civil servant and poet and prose writer. With Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, and Archibald Lampman, he is classed as one of Canada's Confederation Poets. A care ...

to the

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

district to negotiate Treaty no. 9 with the Cree and Obijwe. While there, he made many portraits in pastel of the Indian leaders at the event. He continued making annual summer trips through 1910 to Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, making sympathetic and accurate pastel portraits of the indigenous people due to his genuine interest in them. The result was a series of portraits of unique value. In 1909, he had a major exhibition of 55 Indian paintings and artifacts in Toronto at the

. In 1907 he co-founded the Canadian Art Club. Morris was also a member of

The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto (usually just called ''The Arts and Letters Club'') is a private club in Toronto, Ontario, which brings together writers, architects, musicians, painters, graphic artists, actors and others working in or with a ...

, the

Ontario Society of Artists The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) was founded in 1872. It is Canada's oldest continuously operating professional art society. When it was founded at the home of John Arthur Fraser, seven artists were present. Besides Fraser himself, Marmaduke M ...

, the Toronto Art Students League, and an Associate of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

. From 1909 he also served on the council of the nascent Art Museum of Toronto (later the

). In August 1913, he went on a painting trip to the Île d’Orléans. He accidentally drowned in the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Portneuf, Quebec Portneuf is a municipality in the Portneuf Regional County Municipality, in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the Saint Lawrence River, between Quebec City and Trois-Rivières. The Portneuf River runs on the east side of the town c ...

on August 21, 1913. In a detailed will, he bequeathed his paintings to the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

to be sold to fund a scholarship, and his collection of objects related to aboriginal life and history and historical Canadian furniture to the

. He gave generously to many other institutions. His papers and over 700 photographs are in the Provincial Archives of Manitoba. His works are in the

Glenbow Museum The Glenbow Museum is an art and history regional museum in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The museum focuses on Western Canadian history and culture, including Indigenous perspectives. The Glenbow was established as a private non-profi ...

, Calgary as well as the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

, Ottawa and the

, Toronto. His correspondence and notes concerning the Canadian Art Club are in The

E.P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing ...

Library & Archives, Art Gallery of Ontario. In 1984, Geoffrey Simmins and Michael Parke-Taylor curated ''Edmund Morris, "Kyaiyii", 1871–1913'', a major

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...

exhibition for the

MacKenzie Art Gallery The MacKenzie Art Gallery (MAG; french: Musee d’art MacKenzie) is an art museum located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The museum occupies the multipurpose T. C. Douglas Building, situated at the edge of the Wascana Centre. The building holds e ...

Regina.

Gallery

Edmund Montague Morris- Opazatonka.jpg, ''Opazatonka'' Edmund Montague Morris-landscape.jpg, ''landscape'' Edmund Montague Morris-native chief Poundmaker, 1910.jpg, ''native chief Poundmaker'', 1910

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Edmund Montague 1871 births 1913 deaths 19th-century Canadian artists 20th-century Canadian artists Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Canadian landscape painters