Evelyn Lambart (23 July 1914 – 3 April 1999) was a Canadian animator and technical director with the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

, known for her early collaborations with

Norman McLaren William Norman McLaren, LL. D. (11 April 1914 – 27 January 1987) was a Scottish Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).Rosenthal, Alan. ''The new documentary in action: a caseb ...

as well as her later films, as sole director. In 1978, she was the subject of a biographical documentary entitled ''Eve Lambart'' directed by Margaret Wescott.

Early years

Born 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 ...

, she was

hearing impaired Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken la ...

from an early age, which she later credited with focusing her attention on the visual world as a means of communication. After attending

Lisgar Collegiate Institute Lisgar Collegiate Institute is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in downtown Ottawa by the Rideau Canal. History In 1843, a grammar school with 40 paying students was ...

in Ottawa, Lambart studied at 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 ...

for five years, graduating in 1937. Her plan had been to continue her art studies in the U.K., however, the outbreak of

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

made that impossible. Instead, Lambart spent a year and a half working on

illuminations Illuminations may refer to: Shows and festivals * IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, a nightly fireworks show currently at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort *'' IllumiNations'', original nightly firework show at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resor ...

and

lettering Lettering is an umbrella term that covers the art of drawing letters, instead of simply writing them. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attention to d ...

for the first Book of Remembrance, commemorating Canadian war dead in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

NFB career

In 1949, Lambart and McLaren co-directed ''

Begone Dull Care ''Begone Dull Care'' is a 1949 visual music animated film directed by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart. Summary Using drawn-on-film animation, McLaren and Lambart painted and scratched directly onto film stock to create a visual representa ...

'', which was designated as a "masterwork" by the

Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada The Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada (or the AV Trust). originally the Alliance for the Preservation of Canada's Audio-Visual Heritage,Claude Jutra Claude Jutra (; March 11, 1930 – November 5, 1986) was a Canadian actor, film director, and screenwriter.

pixilation Pixilation is a stop motion technique in which live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor beco ...

film ''

A Chairy Tale ''A Chairy Tale'' (french: Il était une chaise) is a 1957 Canadian stop-motion pixilation short film co-directed by Norman McLaren and Claude Jutra, starring Jutra with an uncooperative chair. The film humorously portrays Jutra's attempts to sit o ...

''.NFB Collections page, ''A Chairy Tale''
/ref> In its 1999 obituary for Lambart,

Animation World Network Animation World Network (often just "AWN") is an online publishing group that specializes in resources for animators, with an extensive website offering news, articles and links for professional animators and animation fans. Specifically, AWN cov ...

stated that: These animated morality tales for children included several adaptations of

Aesop's fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

, and were all rendered with the same style of paper cut-outs transferred to lithograph plates, painted and animated.

References

External links

Watch films by Evelyn Lambart at NFB.ca
(Requires

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...

) 1914 births 1999 deaths Artists from Ottawa Canadian animators Canadian women animators National Film Board of Canada people OCAD University alumni Canadian women film directors Film directors from Ottawa Deaf film directors Manuscript illuminators Stop motion animators Drawn-on-film animators Deaf artists Deaf people from Canada Lisgar Collegiate Institute {{animator-stub