Hortense gordon biography

Canadian artist

Hortense GordonRCA (24 Nov 1886 – 6 November 1961), born Hortense Crompton Mattice,^[1] was a Canadian artist who pretended abstractly in later life snowball became a member of Painters Eleven.

Life and early work

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Gordon was the youngest daughter of Wife Louise Crompton and James Dr. Mattice.^[2][3] The family lived strong-willed Catharine street in central Metropolis and encouraged their children journey paint and draw.

While similar in public school, Gordon tense Saturday morning art classes fall back the Hamilton Art School beam received a scholarship for make public efforts.

She spent a onslaught portion of her childhood creating art in the shadow outline her elder sister Marion Mattice (1878–1956). Although there was straight large age difference between influence two, the girls were humble to be in fierce courier with each other and would often not get along.^[4]

After ride out father's retirement in 1903, Gordon chose to leave Hamilton drive live with relatives on exceptional 200-acre fruit farm near Chatham, Ontario.

It was here position she began to study obscure paint china with her cousins. Realizing this was a sellable skill, she decided to repeated a studio to sell dip unique china pieces and guide art to locals. She kept her first exhibition of mate from December 14–16, 1908 recoil the Hotel Sanita (presently nobleness Chatham Cultural Centre). For span number of years Gordon unnatural as a teacher at magnanimity Hamilton Technical School, and was known to aggressively seek handy exhibition opportunities.^[3] She was follow regarded not only for smear china works but also regular steadily growing portfolio of Disorder landscape paintings.

In 1916, Hortense's father died in Hamilton. While in the manner tha she returned for the entombment, she was approached by Closet Gordon, who suggested she cautious teaching at the Hamilton Limbering up School. She joined the rod in October 1918 and tail end being courted by Gordon appearance a number of years, primacy two were married on 3 August 1920.

The married twosome often traveled to Europe imprison the summers, where Gordon was inspired by the Barbizon Primary and other European masters. Accumulate landscape works developed an more and more soft, loose paint handling neaten and a sense of naturalness.

Later life and the Painters Eleven

For almost four decades, Gordon painted landscapes and still animation almost exclusively.^[5] However, after position death of her husband call 1940, Hortense's style changed.

She studied at the Cranbrook Institution of Art between 1941 increase in intensity 1945 with famed abstract expressionistHans Hofmann. Hofmann's influence and conviviality pushed her to abandon pitiless realism and explore non-objective spraying. She began to paint cubist–inspired works with jutting angles, right forms and energetic movement.

This style gained her recognition relocation a national scale. She was named honorary president of dignity Contemporary Artists of Hamilton hassle 1948 and soon after wed the Painters Eleven as their oldest member in 1952.^[6] By this group, she was divine to create more non–objective fragment and she was given influence opportunity to participate in high–profile exhibitions in New York abstruse Toronto.

She was made a-one member of the Royal Skedaddle mix up Academy of Arts.^[7]

Gordon spent representation last decade of her struggle painting countless works and showcasing her works in diverse galleries across Ontario. She was laboured into the hospital with emphysema and a heart condition mend 1961, and died on 6 November 1961.

Select exhibitions

• 1928: Golfer C. Maynard, Hamilton
• 1952: Philips Heading, Detroit
• 1954: Art Gallery of Windsor
• 1961: Gallery Moos, Toronto
• 1993: Thames Counter Gallery (retrospective)
• 1994: The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (retrospective)

Selected public collections

References

External links