Maurice Cullen (June 6, 1866 – March 28, 1934) is considered to be one of the first

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

artists in Canada. He is best known for his paintings of snow and for his ice harvest scenes where horse-drawn sleighs travel across the frozen waters of Quebec in the winter.

Life and work

Cullen was born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

.Cybermuse
Maurice Cullen, bio notes
In 1870 his family moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec where he began his art training studying sculpture at the Conseil des Arts et Manufactures and with the sculptor Louis-Philippe Hébert at the Monument National. In 1888, he travelled to Paris and took courses at 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 ...

with

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ran ...

and at the Académie Colarossi with

Gustave Courtois Gustave-Claude-Étienne Courtois, also known as Gustave Courtois (; 18 May 1852 in Pusey, Haute-Saône – 1923 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French painter, a representative of the academic style of art. Life Courtois was born 18 May 1852 i ...

and L.A. Rixens. He later studied at 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 was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in 1890 and studied with Élie Delaunay and

Alfred Philippe Roll Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

. Although he received academic training, he was influenced in his painting by the Impressionists, especially

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

and, as early as 1891, critics gave positive reviews to his Impressionist-influenced work. In 1895, the French Government purchased a painting entitled ''L'été'' and he was elected an associate of the

Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; en, National Society of Fine Arts) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions. 1862 Es ...

– the first Canadian to be so honoured but that year, he returned to Montreal and made it his home, turning from French subjects to Canadian ones, with an emphasis on snowscapes and using a modified Impressionist technique. Besides the Quebec landscape, he became the chronicler of the city. In 1910, he married Barbara Merchant Pilot, a widow whose son, his stepson, grew up to be the artist

Robert Wakeham Pilot Robert Wakeham Pilot (October 9, 1898 – December 17, 1967) was a Canadian artist, who worked mainly in oil on canvas or on panel, and as an etcher and muralist. He is considered to be the last artist in Canada to paint Impressionistically wit ...

. In the same year, he was invited to be a member of the progressive

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 ...

(1910). Cullen set an example for other Canadian painters. A. Y. Jackson said of him,

"To us, he was a hero."

Beginning in January 1918, Cullen served with Canadian forces 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 ...

. He came to the attention of

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

, who arranged for him to be commissioned as one of the Canadian official war artists along with

Frederick Varley Frederick Horsman Varley (January 2, 1881 – September 8, 1969) was a member of the Canadian Group of Seven. Career Early life Varley was born in Sheffield, England, in 1881, the son of Lucy (Barstow) and Samuel James Smith Varley the 7th. He ...

, J.W. Beatty and C. W. Simpson. Cullen died March 28, 1934, at Chambly,

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

Exhibitions

William Robinson Watson (1887–1973) in Montreal, of Watson Art Gallery, represented Cullen and published a book on him in 1931. An exhibition, ''Legacies of Impressionism in Canada: Three Exhibitions'', was held from January 31 to April 19, 2009 at the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Franc ...

. In 2019, 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 ...

travelling show, ''Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons'', opened in Munich. It came to the National Gallery in 2022.

Selected works

File:Maurice Cullen - The Mill Stream.jpg, ''The Mill Stream (ca 1905)'', National Gallery of Canada. File:Maurice Cullen - Customs Port, Venice.jpg, ''Customs Port, Venice (1897)'', National Gallery of Canada File:Maurice Cullen - À la marée montante, Le Pouldu, Bretagne.JPG, ''Rising Tide, Le Pouldu, Bretagne (1901)'', Musée des beaux-arts du Québec File:Snowfall, Lac Tremblant.jpg, Snowfall, Lac Tremblant (1922) Private Collection File:Maurice Cullen - Winter Evening, Quebec.jpg, ''Ice Breaking, L'Assomption, (ca 1914)'', National Gallery of Canada File:Maurice Cullen - Paysage de l'Ile d'Orléans.jpg, ''Ile d'Orleans landscape'', Musée de la civilisation, Quebec File:Maurice Galbraith Cullen - No Man's Land.jpg, ''No Man's Land (Douai plain, France) (1920)'', Canadian War Museum

Honours

* First Canadian to be elected associate member of Société nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1895 *

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 ...

, elected full member 1907 * Bronze medal,

Canadian exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Canadian exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was the country's contribution to what was commonly called the St. Louis World's Fair, held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, in 1904. The exhibition included a showcase of Canadi ...

, St. Louis, Missouri, 1904 * Awarded Jessie Dow Prize,

Art Association of Montreal 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 ...

, 1911, 1913 * Elected first vice-president of Arts Club, Montreal (founded at his studio), 1912 * He was declared a Canadian Person of National Historic Significance in 1944.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * Davis, Ann (1992). ''The Logic of Ecstasy: Canadian Mystical Painting, 1920–1940''. Toronto:

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calen ...