Jean Albert McEwen (1923 – 1999) was a Canadian painter known for his

lyrical abstraction Lyrical abstraction is either of two related but distinct trends in Post-war Modernist painting: ''European Abstraction Lyrique'' born in Paris, the French art critic Jean José Marchand being credited with coining its name in 1947, considered ...

Early life

McEwen was born in 1923 Montreal to a Scottish father and French-Canadian mother. He began his working life as a pharmacist, having received a degree in pharmacy from the University of Montreal in 1947.

Art career

McEwen was self-taught as a painter. The first exhibition of his work was in the 1949 ''Annual Spring Exhibition'', a group show at the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

. Following the positive reception of his work as a painter in Montreal, he quit his job as a pharmacist and left Montreal for Paris, encouraged to meet

Jean-Paul Riopelle Jean-Paul Riopelle, (October 7, 1923 – March 12, 2002) was a Canadian painter and sculptor from Quebec. He had one of the longest and most important international careers of the sixteen signatories of the ''Refus Global'', the 1948 manif ...

. In Paris, was introduced to the painters Riopelle,

Georges Mathieu Georges Mathieu (27 January 1921 – 10 June 2012) was a French abstract painter, art theorist, and member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He is considered one of the fathers of European lyrical abstraction, a trend of informalism. Bi ...

and

Sam Francis Samuel Lewis Francis (June 25, 1923 – November 4, 1994) was an American painter and printmaker. Early life Sam Francis was born in San Mateo, California,

as well as visiting museums in Italy, Holland and Spain. On his return to Montreal in 1953, he was committed to non-figurative art, influenced by French

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

and American

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

. In 1956, he participated in Galerie Actuelle's Montreal exhibition of non-figurative art, which was his true starting point. That same year, he became a member of the newly formed multi-faceted Non-Figurative Artists' Association of Montreal, and in 1960, he was elected its president.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 In 1961, McEwen received the Hadassah prize and first prize at the ''Concours artistiques de la province de Québec'', as well as a grant from the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...

. In the same year, he also had his first solo show at Gallery Moos, in Toronto, and

Alfred Barr Alfred Hamilton Barr Jr. (January 28, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American art historian and the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. From that position, he was one of the most influential forces in the development of ...

, director of the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, acquired one of his paintings for the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, which contributed to his reputation among the vanguard of Canadian artists. In the works of his maturity, McEwen employed an allover field composition bisected by a central vertical but varied colour and ways of handling pigment, either brushed on or applied with a palette knife for a rich impasto surface effect. He used many layers of pigment to give an effect of luminosity and shimmering light.

Selected exhibitions

McEwen took part in many exhibitions, both in Canada and abroad, among them the Biennial Exhibitions of Canadian Art and the Province of Quebec Exhibition. In 1963, he showed his work in New York at the

Martha Jackson Gallery Martha Jackson (; January 17, 1907 – July 4, 1969) was an American art dealer, gallery owner, and collector. Her New York City based Martha Jackson Gallery, founded in 1953, was groundbreaking in its representation of women and internatio ...

and after that, in many places abroad, notably Brazil and England. In 1964, he was made an Associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy; he became a full member in 1968. From 1982 to 1994, he was professor at

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

. In 1998, he received the

Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas The Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals who are artists or craftsman in the fields of visual arts, of the trades of art, architecture and the design. It is na ...

from the Government of Quebec. In 1987, McEwen's work was the subject of a

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 ...

at the

. A second commemorative exhibition titled ''Untamed Colour: Celebrating Jean McEwen'' was held there in 2019 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his death.

Collections

His work is included in the collections of the

Albright-Knox Art Gallery The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum at 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, in Delaware Park. the museum's Elmwood Avenue campus is temporarily closed for construction. It hosted e ...

, Buffalo; the

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec ( en, National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec), abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is situated in Battlefield Park and is a complex consisting of four bui ...

, PQ; the

, New York; 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

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, as well as many other collections. In 1966, he painted three glass windows for

in Montreal (the dimensions of the three panels are 366 x 457 cm each). In 1967, he completed a mural for Place des Arts in Montreal. His estate is represented by Mira Godard Gallery in Toronto.

Awards

* 1976 Canada Council's Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McEwen, Jean 1923 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Canadian artists Canadian abstract artists Canadian contemporary artists Artists from Montreal French Quebecers