Charlotte Mount Brock Schreiber (21 May 1834 – 3 July 1922) was an English-Canadian painter and illustrator, among the first of Canada's notable female painters.
. Libraries and Archives Canada. Accessed 16 June 2010

Early life

Schreiber, née Morrell, was born in Essex, England. Before marrying and emigrating to Canada in 1875, she studied and found success in her native country. At Mr. Carey's School of Art in London, she trained with

John Rogers Herbert John Rogers Herbert (23 January 1810 – 17 March 1890) was an English painter who is most notable as a precursor of Pre-Raphaelitism. Early career John Rogers Herbert was born in Maldon, Essex. In 1826, he moved to London to study at the ...

, R.A., who specialized in historical paintings and portraits. She also studied anatomy and acquired a great understanding and appreciation for the human form: she wrote in 1895, "The human hand, the finger nail, the foot, every portion of the living body, the parts of a flower, are divinely beautiful … it is a joy to paint them as they are in reality". Equipped with this training, Schreiber achieved professional success early in her career, exhibiting at the Royal Academy at the age of 21 and receiving commissions to illustrate several books. In 1875, she married her cousin Weymouth Schreiber and moved to Canada with him and his three children, settling in Toronto.

Toronto

Schreiber quickly got involved in the Toronto art scene. In 1876, a year after she emigrated, she was elected to the Ontario Society of Artists, and the following year, she became the first woman to teach at the Ontario School of Art, today's

OCAD University 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 d ...

, where she was also the only woman to serve on the school's council. She also played a role as a founding member of the Women's Art Association of Canada. In 1880, Schreiber became the first woman elected to 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 Gener ...

, which had been strictly and exclusively male until then. However, despite this great achievement, she was not permitted to attend meetings or engage in policy-making, and she remained the only woman on the academy until 1933 (53 years later), when the second woman,

Marion Long Marion Long (1882 – 1970) was an artist, elected to the Royal Canadian Academy in 1922. She was often commissioned to paint portraits, sometimes of military figures. She is known for her urban scenes. Biography Long studied at OCAD Univ ...

, was elected. 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 ...

holds the painting that she submitted toward her Academy diploma. Titled ''The Croppy Boy (The Confession of an Irish Patriot)'', it is based on the Irish ballad " The Croppy Boy", which was popular during the Irish rebellion of the 1790s. It tells the story of a youth who stops in a church to confess his sins as he prepares for the battle of Wexford. His audience, however, is not a Catholic priest, but a disguised British soldier who arrests him and takes him for execution. The painting shows the youth on his knees, earnestly addressing the cloaked soldier, whose uniform is visible to the viewer but not to the penitent. The two figures are united by the red in their clothing, but the soldier occupies the shadowy portion of the canvas, with the youth on the lighter side, perhaps suggesting Schreiber's sympathies.

Work

Schreiber's contributions to Canadian art are immense. She painted scenes of everyday life, and she based her paintings on the things she saw and the people she knew personally. For instance, her 1876 painting ''Don`t Be Afraid'' (previously titled ''Springfield on the Credit'') is based on close observation of children playing in the snow on the banks of the Credit River. Because of her insistence and commitment to realism, Schreiber is credited with introducing the realist style to Canada. Further, her experience in England allowed her to carry over European stylistic changes in art to Canada, leading directly to the country's artistic maturity. Schreiber's work epitomized the realist movement through the influence of both neoclassicism and romanticism. This can be seen in her ''Portrait of Edith Quinn,'' showcasing the naturalism portrayed in contemporary literature while maintaining a detailed, realistic portrayal of the subject. Her art was influenced by literature, including her early illustrations of poems by

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

(''The Legende of the Knight of the Red Crosse''),

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for '' The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen o ...

(''

The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...

'', illustrated 1871), and

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime. Born in County Durham, the eldest of 12 children, Elizabet ...

(''The Rhyme of the Duchess May'', 1874).

Later years

After a long and successful career in Canada, Schreiber moved back to England in 1898 after the death of her husband, and she died in Paignton, South Devon, England in 1922.

Record sale prices

At the Cowley Abbott Auction, Important Canadian Art (Sale 2) December 1, 2022, lot #131, ''Edith Schreiber with her Sleigh'', oil on board, 12.25 x 9.25 ins ( 31.1 x 23.5 cms ), Auction Estimate: $10,000.00 - $15,000.00, realized a price $138,000.00.

References

External links

Schreiber gallery at the National Gallery of Canada

Canadian Women Artists History Initiative
includes an extensive bibliography {{DEFAULTSORT:Schreiber, Charlotte 1834 births 1922 deaths Canadian illustrators Canadian women painters People from Essex 19th-century Canadian painters 20th-century Canadian painters 19th-century Canadian women artists 20th-century Canadian women artists English emigrants to Canada Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts