Marjorie "Jori" Smith, (January 1, 1907 – November 25, 2005) was a key figure in the 1930s in initiating Canada's modernist art movement. She was a founding member of the

Contemporary Arts Society The Contemporary Arts Society was founded by John Lyman in 1939 to promote modern art in Montreal, at a time when Canada was dominated by academic art. Lyman was the Society's first president. The additional officers were vice-president Paul-Émil ...

in 1939.

Biography

Smith was born in Montreal, Canada on January 1, 1907. Her early training was at the

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 ...

where she studied under

Randolph Hewton Randolph Stanley Hewton (June 12, 1888 – March 17, 1960) was a Canadian artist, known for his figurative work and as a colorist. Career He was born in Maple Grove, Quebec, and studied with William Brymner at the Art Association of Mont ...

. Subsequently, her studies took her to the

École des beaux-arts de Montréal École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

and in 1938 she became the only woman member in the

Eastern Group of Painters The Eastern Group of Painters was a group of Canadian artists formed in 1938 in Montreal, Quebec for exhibition purposes and showing together as a group till 1950. It included Montreal artists whose common interest was painting and an art for art' ...

. She was known for her landscapes and portraits of children painted in Charlevoix county in the 1930s and 1940s. She married Jean Palardy in 1930, and spent much of the following decade in the Baie Saint-Paul area with Palardy, himself a painter film-maker and antique expert. Friendships with writer

Gabrielle Roy Gabrielle Roy (March 22, 1909July 13, 1983) was a Canadian author from St. Boniface, Manitoba and one of the major figures in French Canadian literature. Early life Roy was born in 1909 in Saint-Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, and ...

and ethnographer

Marius Barbeau Charles Marius Barbeau, (March 5, 1883 – February 27, 1969), also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthropology. A ...

were honed in this period. She was a founding member of the

, and her works were included in the exhibitions of the Art Association of Montreal. In 1998 she published ''Charlevoix County, 1930'', based largely on an early manuscript of her memories of the people that she painted in the 1930s in rural Quebec. In 2002, Jori Smith was appointed a member of the Order of Canada. She was made a member of 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 General ...

. Her memoirs, ''Charlevoix County, 1930'', were published in 1998. The book was shortlisted for the QSPELL Mavis Gallant Prize and First Book Prize. Smith died in Montreal on November 25, 2005.

Legacy

Her works are held in museums including the National Gallery of Canada, notably "The Communicant", dating from her many years at Petite Rivière St Francois. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, and the Library and Archives Canada also maintain collections of her work.

References

Works

* ''Charlevoix County, 1930'' (Penumbra Press; 1998)

External links

Gallery of Jori Smith
on ''Canadian Painting in the 30s''
Jori Smith
National Gallery of Canada {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jori Modern painters Artists from Montreal Members of the Order of Canada 1907 births 2005 deaths Canadian women painters Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 20th-century Canadian women artists École des beaux-arts de Montréal alumni