Isabel McLaughlin, (10 October 1903 - 26 November 2002) was a Modernist Canadian painter, patron and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. She specialized in landscapes and still life and had a strong interest in design.

Biography

A group of artists and friends at Whitefish Falls in 1936

Born in

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

, Ontario, McLaughlin was the third of five daughters to Adelaide Mowbray McLaughlin and founder of the McLaughlin Motor Car Company and first president of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

Canada, Col. Robert

Samuel McLaughlin Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin, (September 8, 1871 – January 6, 1972) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He started the McLaughlin Motor Car Company in 1907, one of the first major automobile manufacturers in Canada, which evo ...

. She studied watercolour painting with Louise Saint in Paris while learning French at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in Paris (1921-1924). From 1925 to 1927, she studied art 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 ...

with

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...

member

Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer, LL. D. (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-Canadian painter, member of the Group of Seven and educator. He is known primarily as a landscape painter and for his paintings of ships in dazzle camouflage. Early life ...

and

Yvonne McKague Housser Yvonne McKague Housser, (1897–1996) was a Modernist Canadian painter, and a teacher. Early life and education Yvonne McKague was born in Toronto in 1897 to Hugh Henry McKague and Louise Elliott. She studied at the Ontario College of Art (OCA) ...

, the latter of whom she referred to as "remarkable". She then attended the Art Students' League, as it was called, a school started by Lismer's students on the grounds of the College of Art with, as mentors, Lismer and Housser.

Lawren Harris Lawren Stewart Harris LL. D. (October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970) was a Canadian painter, best known as a leading member of the Group of Seven. He played a key role as a catalyst in Canadian art and as a visionary in Canadian landscape art. ...

A. Y. Jackson Alexander Young Jackson LL. D. (October 3, 1882April 5, 1974) was a Canadian painter and a founding member of the Group of Seven. Jackson made a significant contribution to the development of art in Canada, and was instrumental in bringing toget ...

, Bertram Brooker, Lowrie Warrener,

Frances Loring Frances Norma Loring LL.D. (October 14, 1887– February 5, 1968) was a Canadian sculptor. Career Loring studied in Europe before enrolling at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied with Lorado Taft. She was a member of both the Royal C ...

and

Florence Wyle Florence Wyle (November 14, 1881 – January 14, 1968) was an American-Canadian sculptor, designer and poet; a pioneer of the Canadian art scene. She practiced chiefly in Toronto, living and working with her partner Frances Loring, with whom she ...

, came and besides advice, expressed enthusiasm. In 1929, she studied in Paris at the Scandinavian Academy with

Prudence Heward Prudence Heward (July 5, 1896 – March 19, 1947)Ferrari, Prudence. "Prudence Heward: Painting at Home." (2001). In ''Framing Our Past: Canadian Women's History in the Twentieth Century,'' S.A. Cook, L.R. McLean, and K. O'Rourke, eds. Montreal: Mc ...

, with whom she formed a lifelong friendship,Ferrari, Prudence. "Prudence Heward: Painting at Home." (2001). In ''Framing Our Past: Canadian Women's History in the Twentieth Century,'' S.A. Cook, L.R. McLean, and K. O'Rourke, eds. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 131. then in Vienna with Housser in 1930. McLaughlin was recognized as a dedicated artist from early in her career. As Fred Housser wrote in 1929, McLaughlin was "one of the boldest young women painters we have...Her compositions are intensely modern in feeling...characterized by...real power", together with originality of expression...." She was an invited participant in the

exhibition in 1931. Her first solo show was at the Art Gallery of Toronto in 1933.A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 (online only), by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker National Gallery of Canada / Musée des beaux-arts du Canada Her early work is described as having a sculptural simplicity of style. She exhibited at Scott & Sons, Montreal with Sarah Robertson, and Heward (1934); at Malloney Galleries, Toronto, with

Rody Kenny Courtice Rody Kenny Courtice (born Roselyn Margaret Kenny; 1891–1973) was a modernist Canadian painter. She was associated with the Group of Seven early in her career, but later moved away into a more individual style. She was active in associations of ...

Kathleen Daly Kathleen Frances Daly (or Kathleen Daly Pepper) (28 May 1898 – 31 August 1994) was a Canadian painter. She is known for her depictions of First Nations and the Inuit in Canada. Life Kathleen Frances Daly was born in Napanee, Ontario. She came ...

, Housser and Paraskeva Clark (1936); and the Picture Loan Society, Toronto (1937). Besides Heward, she formed a strong friendship with Housser and the two often went on painting excursions together and exhibited their work at

Canadian Group of Painters The Canadian Group of Painters (CGP) was a collective of 28 painters from across Canada who came together as a group in 1933. Formation The Canadian Group of Painters succeeded the disbanded Group of Seven, whose paintings of the Canadian wilde ...

shows, of which both were founding members in 1933. ''Tree'' by McLaughlin, now in the collection of 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 ...

, was lampooned in the ''

Toronto Telegram ''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed wit ...

'' following its exhibition in a 1936 Canadian Group of Painters show. In 1940, she showed in a four person exhibition at the Art Gallery of Toronto with Courtice, Bobs Coghill Haworth, and Housser (this exhibition was re-examined in 1998 as a show curated by Alicia Boutilier with a catalogue by the Art Galley of Carleton University in Ottawa titled ''4 Women Who Painted in the 1930s and 1940s''). In the summers of 1938 and 1939, she studied

Dynamic Symmetry Jay Hambidge (1867–1924) was a Canadian-born American artist who formulated the theory of "dynamic symmetry", a system defining compositional rules, which was adopted by several notable American and Canadian artists in the early 20th century. ...

with Emile Bistram in Taos, New Mexico. During the summers from 1947 to 1952, McLaughlin studied with

Hans Hofmann Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 – February 17, 1966) was a German-born American painter, renowned as both an artist and teacher. His career spanned two generations and two continents, and is considered to have both preceded and influenced Abstrac ...

accompanied by

Alexandra Luke Alexandra Luke (14 May 1901 - 1 June 1967), born Margaret Alexandra Luke in Montreal, Quebec, was a Canadian abstract artist who belonged to the Painters Eleven. Early life Luke was born in Montreal, one of a pair of twins, to parents Jesse Her ...

with whom she also was a close friend. McLaughlin's works are in many public collections such as the

, the

Robert McLaughlin Gallery The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a public art gallery in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public art gallery in the Regional Municipality of Durham, of which Oshawa is a part. The gallery houses a significant collection of Canadian conte ...

in Oshawa, the

McMichael Canadian Art Collection The McMichael Canadian Art Collection (MCAC) is an art museum in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located on a property in Kleinburg, an unincorporated village in Vaughan. The property includes the museum's main building, a sculpture garde ...

, Kleinburg and the

Art Gallery of Guelph The Art Gallery of Guelph (AGG), formerly the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, is a public gallery and adjoining sculpture park in Guelph, Ontario. The AGG has a collection of over 9,000 works and focusses on research, publishing, educational progra ...

, Ontario. Among her public commissions was a mural for the children's reading room of the Oshawa Public Library in 1955. She served as the first woman president of the Canadian Group of Painters (1939-1945). McLaughlin was also a member of 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 ...

, as well as an executive member of the

Heliconian Club The Heliconian Club of Toronto is an association of women involved in the arts and letters based in Toronto, Canada. It operates out of Heliconian Hall located in Yorkville. In existence for over 110 years, the Heliconian Club remains steadfast in ...

in Toronto and its President (1940-1942). She was also a member of the

Federation of Canadian Artists The Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) is an association of artists in Canada founded in Toronto in 1941. The FCA soon had chapters across the country, and was one of the main forces behind formation of the Canada Council in 1957. After this, the ...

(1942). She was the recipient of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...

in 1993 and the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1997.

Record Sale Prices

In the spring 2022 sale of auction Cowley Abbott, McLaughlin's ''Backyards'', lot 74, oil on canvas, 25 x 26 ins ( 63.5 x 66 cms ), estimated at $15,000.00 - $20,000.00, realized a price of $40,800.00.

Gifts to Oshawa and elsewhere

McLaughlin gave financial gifts to the

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 ...

, the

Art Gallery of Windsor Art Windsor-Essex (AWE) (formerly known as the Art Gallery of Windsor) is a not-for-profit art institute in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1943, the gallery has a mandate as a public art space to show significant works of art by local ...

, the

and the

. In 1987, McLaughlin made a donation of art work from her personal collection of art works by other artists than herself to the Robert McLaughlin Gallery as well. Some of these artists included

Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, and also photographs and glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary German ...

Louis Archambault Louis Archambault (April 4, 1915 – January 27, 2003) was a Quebec sculptor and ceramicist, who was one of the members of the "new sculpture" movement in Canada that moved away from traditional methods towards abstraction. Career Born in M ...

, B. C. Binning,

André Charles Biéler André Charles Biéler (8 October 1896 – 1 December 1989) was a Swiss-born Canadian painter and teacher. His work was modernist, at first with strong emphasis on line, later with more interest in light and colour. He is known for his genre pictu ...

Emil Bisttram Emil Bisttram (1895–1976) was an American artist who lived in New York and Taos, New Mexico, who is known for his modernist work. Life and works Emil Bisttram was born in Nagylak, Hungary in 1895 (today Nădlac, Romania). When he was 11 years ...

Emily Carr Emily Carr (or M. Emily Carr as she sometimes signed her work) (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to ado ...

, Paraskeva Clark,

Lyonel Feininger Lyonel Charles Feininger (July 17, 1871January 13, 1956) was a German-American painter, and a leading exponent of Expressionism. He also worked as a caricaturist and comic strip artist. He was born and grew up in New York City, traveling to Germa ...

Peter Haworth Peter Haworth (1889 – 7 May 1986) was a British-born Canadian painter. He was known for his stained glass work. Early years Peter Haworth was born in 1889 in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, England. During World War I (1914–1918) he served in th ...

Bobs Cogill Haworth Bobs Cogill Haworth (1900–1988) was a South African-born Canadian painter and potter. She practiced mainly in Toronto, living and working with her husband, painter and teacher Peter Haworth. She was a member of the Canadian Group of Painters ...

J. E. H. MacDonald James Edward Hervey MacDonald (1873–1932) was an English-Canadian artist, best known as a member of the Group of Seven who asserted a distinct national identity combined with a common heritage stemming from early modernism in Europe in the ear ...

, Anne Savage,

, and Sarah Robertson among others. A second donation followed in 1990 which included many works by Jackson, Lismer and Housser. Before her death, she gave her archives to Queen's University. Following her death, McLaughlin's remaining collection of art work was donated to the Robert McLaughlin Gallery. ''Isabel McLaughlin (1903–2002): Painter, Patron, Philanthropist'' was held at the

Agnes Etherington Art Centre The Agnes Etherington Art Centre is located in Kingston, Ontario, in the heart of the historic campus of Queen's University. Situated on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory, the gallery has received a number of awards for its exhib ...

in Kingston, Ontario, in 2007, to celebrate the gift to the archives at Queen's University at Kingston.

Legacy

In 1948, Housser painted a watercolour depicting McLaughlin titled ''Isabel the Archaeologist, Cap Chat River''. McLaughlin also was the subject of an authorized portrait relief sculpture by

. A mid-life portrait photograph was authorized by Reva Brooks in the 1950s. In 1998, McLaughlin was one of the four artists in ''4 Women Who Painted in the 1930s and 1940s'', curated by Alicia Boutilier for the Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa. In 2013, her role in supporting the

was discussed in ''A Vital Force: Canadian Group of Painters'' curated by Boutilier for the

. In 2016, the

included her work in the exhibition ''Dear Life'', which traced the ways in which women have shaped the course of art across the 20th, and now the 21st, centuries.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Isabel Canadian women painters 1903 births 2002 deaths OCAD University alumni Members of the Order of Ontario Members of the Order of Canada Artists from Oshawa 20th-century Canadian painters 20th-century Canadian women artists Canadian philanthropists Canadian women philanthropists Canadian patrons of the arts