Sylvia Tait (born March 20, 1932) is a Canadian

abstract painter Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19t ...

and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

Career

Tait attended the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts School of Art and Design from 1949 to 1953, completing an undergraduate degree. Her instructors included

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 ...

, Jacques de Tonnancour, Marian Scott,

Eldon Grier Eldon Grier (13 April 1917 – 28 July 2001) was a Canadian poet and artist. Grier is best known for his poems regarding travel and art. Grier's early poems were influenced by Louis Dudek and Ralph Gustafson. His later works have been compared ...

, Gordon Webber and William Armstrong. She held her first solo exhibition in 1953 at the YMCA in Montreal, presenting semi-abstract portrait and still life oil paintings.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 Tait married artist and poet

in 1954. He had long-standing connections in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(including with Diego Rivera) and they spent extended periods in San Miguel de Allende in the late 1950s. In Mexico Tait participated in several group exhibitions and presented two solo exhibitions at the Instituto Allende in 1959 and 1960. The couple moved to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in 1968 and Tait set up her studio in

West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...

. She had a number of solo exhibitions in the 1970s and received awards. In the 1980s, Tait created sets and costumes for opera, dance and theatre including, ''Amahl and the Night Visitors'', in 1980, ''The Stand'', Anna Wyman Dance, in 1987, and ''Thisness'', a mono-drama by Istvan Anhalt, in 1986. She also won competitions for art in public spaces in 2004 and 2005. Her work is in many public gallery collections such as the Vancouver Art Gallery and Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. She was a member of the Canadian Society of Graphic Art (1963), and the Malaspina Printmakers, Vancouver, BC (1978).

Exhibitions and influences

Tait has exhibited in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

since the 1950s. Since 1977, Tait has been represented by the Bau-Xi Gallery in Vancouver, BC. Tait's work ''Aquascapes'' was installed at the West Vancouver Pool in 2004, and fully restored in 2013.

Notable exhibitions

* In 1974-1976, "The Graphic Art of Sylvia Tait: Part I, Drawings", Simon Fraser University Gallery, Burnaby, BC; travelling, Penticton, Prince George, Smithers, Prince Rupert, Terrace, Grand Prairie, Dawson Creek, Williams Lake, Vernon, BC, and Atlantic Provinces Art Circuit * In 1974 (simulteously with Part I), "The Graphic Art of Sylvia Tait: Part II, Serigraphs", was held at the Mido Gallery, in Vancouver * In 1981, "Canvas, Wood and Paper",

Burnaby Art Gallery The Burnaby Art Gallery (abbreviated as BAG) is an art museum in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The museum is located on the northern periphery of Deer Lake Park, situated off of Deer Lake Avenue. The museum occupies Fairacres Mansion, a histor ...

, Burnaby, BC * In 2011, the West Vancouver Museum exhibited a mini-

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 ...

of Tait's art work "as a tribute to her career." * In 2014, Tait exhibited in the West Vancouver Museum's exhibition "The And of the Land" alongside other B.C. artists such as Lawren Harris,

Jack Shadbolt Jack Leonard Shadbolt, (February 4, 1909 November 22, 1998) was a Canadian painter. Early life Born in Shoeburyness, England, Shadbolt came to Canada with his parents in April 1911. He was raised in Victoria, British Columbia. He studied at t ...

, and

Takao Tanabe Takao Tanabe, (born 16 September 1926) is a Canadian artist who painted abstractly for decades, but over time, his paintings became nature-based. Biography Born Takao Izumi in Seal Cove, today part of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, the son o ...

. * In 2017, Tait exhibited in the Burnaby Art Gallery's exhibition "Sylvia Tait: Journey"

Influences

Among her influences were the

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 ...

art movement and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. Although Tait's early paintings were representational, her mature and current works on

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

and paper are purely abstract, showing a complex use of layered high key colour. Tait's paintings have been described as "visual image-like poetry, using colour instead of words."

Publications

Tait collaborated with Grier and John Huberman in the design and

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...

of several books, including: * Grier, Eldon. ''The Ring of Ice: Poems.'' Montreal:

Cambridge Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Press i ...

, 1957. Graphics by Sylvia Tait. * Grier, Eldon. ''A Friction of Lights.''

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

: Contact Press, 1963;

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

: Poets' and Painters' Press. Dust jacket designed by Sylvia Tait. * Grier, Eldon. ''Pictures on the Skin: Poems.'' Montreal: Delta Canada, 1967. Drawings and collages by Sylvia Tait. * Huberman, John and Sylvia Tait. ''For a lark: a remedial

field guide A field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife (flora or fauna) or other objects of natural occurrence (e.g. rocks and minerals). It is generally designed to be brought into the "field" or local area where such objects exi ...

for confused birdwatchers.'' Vancouver: J. Huberman, c1974. * Grier, Eldon. ''The Assassination of Colour.''

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

.: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1978. Cover by Sylvia Tait.

Selected awards

* 1964, Prize, 2nd Winnipeg Biennale, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB * 1965, Second Prize, Flowering Tangent, Canadian Group of Painters, Montreal, QC * 1975, Award of Excellence, Malaspina Printmakers Society, Vancouver, BC * 1976, Third Prize, Hadassah Nordau Exhibition, Vancouver, BC * 1978, Honourable Mention, Savoy Cabbages, Malaspina Printmakers Society, Vancouver, BC

References

External links

Sylvia Tait, at Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

Public Art , District of West Vancouver

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tait, Sylvia Canadian women painters Living people Artists from British Columbia 1932 births 21st-century Canadian women artists Canadian abstract artists