Our Children: Reflections of Childhood in Historical Canadian Art

About the Exhibition

Artists: Henri Beau (1863-1949), George Théodore Berthon (1806-1892), Franklin Brownell (1857-1946), Emily Coonan (1885-1971), William M. Cutts (1857-1943), Edmond Dyonnet (1859-1954), Charles Goldhamer (1903-1985), Théophile Hamel (1817-1870), Robert Harris (1849-1919), Adrien Hébert (1890-1967), Paul Kane (1810-1871), Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872), James Löffler (c.1814-c.1861), Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith (1846-1923), Laura Muntz Lyall (1860-1930), Paul Peel (1860-1892), Antoine Plamondon (1804-1895), George Agnew Reid (1890-1947), Henry Sandham (1842-1910), Regina Seiden (1897-1991), Charlotte Schreiber (1834-1922)

From staged commissioned portraits to lighthearted scenes of leisure, this exhibition explores the portrayal of children by Canadian artists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Collectively, these works offer insight into the changing conceptions of childhood within Canadian settler societies. They explore family dynamics, gender roles and class structures.

Portraiture enabled families to record on canvas the likenesses of their children. Influenced by European training, many artists relied on traditional painting conventions to execute such works. Children were positioned in front of staged backdrops and often held flowers or toys as props. Some artists, such as Charlotte Schreiber, used their own children as models, while others, like Robert Harris, were commissioned to paint the children of wealthy families. In works by Frederic M. Bell-Smith, Regina Seiden and Adrien Hébert, children are depicted outside of the studio in familiar Canadian scenes. Here, the focus is not on individual figures, but on the activity in which they are engaged, whether it be leaving school, cross-country skiing or Christmas shopping.

Our Children features many prominent artists from this broad period including Cornelius Krieghoff, Antoine Plamondon, Paul Kane and Laura Muntz Lyall. Consequently, these works also speak to the development of a Canadian artistic milieu, evidenced by the emergence of numerous artist associations, the founding of the Royal Canadian Academy and the increasing professionalisation of the artist.

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Image credits
1, 3, 5: Installation views of Our Children: Reflections of Childhood in Historical Canadian Art, Varley Art Gallery of Markham, 2019. Photos: Toni Hafkenscheid.
2: Franklin Bromwell, Homework, c. 1892, oil on canvas, 30.48 cm x 38.10 cm. Private Collection.
4: Curators Anik Glaude (left) and Charlotte Gagnier (right) at the opening of Our Children, 2019. Photo: Bowie Fan
6: Robert Harris, The Unruly Guest (Portraits of the Children of G. Stethem, Esq.), 1880, oil on canvas, 91.5 c x 122 cm. Private Collection. Photo: Frank Tancredi.