Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (in French
: La Société Canadienne de Peintres en Aquarelle), founded in 1925 is considered to be Canada’s official national water colour Society. Since the 1980s the Society has enjoyed Vice-regal Patronage
from the incumbent Governor-General of Canada. Recognized by a long list of international exhibitions it is the Canadian equivalent of such other national societies as the American Watercolor Society
, USA; the Royal Watercolour Society
, UK; etc.
The nation’s oldest medium-specific arts organization has had an illustrious history. Membership is looked upon as a mark of achieving peer recognition in one of the most difficult and demanding visual arts form.
The elected members are entitled to use the Society’s initials CSPWC (in French: SCPA) after their names.
The CSPWC shares with the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
the distinction of being the two national visual arts organizations that have their membership diplomas signed by the Governor-General of Canada.
peoples as early users of versions of watercolour in their artwork and crafts. Using local materials and chemicals they certainly approximated the watercolour medium in some of their pigments and dyes while really not having any practical reason for exploring any inherent transparent qualities.
The first recorded use of a Europe
an trained watercolourist working within what is today Canadian territory is believed to be the works of John White who accompanied the expeditions of Sir Martin Frobisher in the 1570s. Another early example of a gifted watercolourist working in the same region would be Samuel de Champlain
who first arrived in 1603. Historically art-trained officers or cartographers were dispatched by both the French
and British
governments to assist in the preparation of vitally important maps of these newly claimed lands and to record geographical features. There is a surviving wealth of early watercolours from this period which record landscape features and early settlements. Eagerly collected in today's art markets the best are notably housed in Library and Archives Canada
, the National Gallery of Canada
and the Royal Ontario Museum
.
Prior to the invention of the camera
, watercolour portrait miniatures, on vellum or ivory, were a staple in the homes of Canada’s urban elite.
By the nineteenth century there were a number of well known watercolourists such as Thomas Davies [1737-1812], George Heriot [1766-1844], Otto Jacobi [1812-1901], Charles Jones Way [1824-1919] and Canadian-born Lucius Richard O'Brien
[1832-1899] working in various parts of the country. Kane became well known for his record of interactions with the First Nations
People as he travelled across western Canada
with The North West Company
and the Hudson's Bay Company
. While Jacobi, Way and O'Brien and others involved themselves in the 1880 founding of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
there had long been demands, especially in Montreal
, for the formation of a specifically medium based society.
While several of these early societies did survive for brief periods it was on November 11, 1925, that a group of like-minded artists met at the historic Arts & Letters Club of Toronto
and founded the CSPWC/SCPA. Only when a working framework was proposed for membership under the honourary leadership of the noted painter R.F. Gagen did it seem possible that such a society could survive in the immense geographical reality that was Canada. Within a few years a set of bylaws had been established, a constitution
approved and several Toronto
-based exhibitions held. The first elected President was Fred H. Brigden (1871–1951) a well-connected artist and educator who created a sense of vitality within the group and who encouraged many younger artists to apply for election.
The founding members of the CSPWC/SCPA were F.H. Brigden, A.J. Casson, Franklin Carmichael
, C.W. Jeffreys
, F.S. Haines, L.A.C. Panton, R.F. Gagen, Thomas G. Greene, Robert Holmes, Franz Johnston, André Lapine, and E.J.Sampson.
When organizing the initial meeting these mainly Ontario-based artists did invite a number of nationally prominent watercolourists including W.J. Phillips and F.H. McGillivray who, being based at distances from Toronto, were unable to attend. However they did send strong letters of support and in reality should be considered "founders". This is significant because the inclusion of Florence H. McGillivray is evidence of the new society's willingness to accept female
members from its inception.
) and the National Gallery of Canada
. This emphasis on exhibitions was crucial at the time as there were virtually no commercial galleries in the country. The only way an individual artist could make a living was by exhibiting with such societies as the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, the Ontario Society of Artists
, and the Royal Canadian Academy, in a public gallery. The reality was that the emerging artist got public recognition by jury acceptance to exhibit with his or her better-known peer group, their fame adding lustre by association.
In the years between the First and Second World Wars, Canada
experienced a period of unexpected growth as demand for its agricultural products and mineral wealth made it one of the world’s strongest markets. As one of the signatories of the Treaty of Versailles
in 1919, Canada was, unknown to itself at the time, seeking to establish its own identity separate from its earlier colonial rulers.
It was in the visual arts, initially in the area of landscape painting, that the new country found one of its strongest senses of self. As painters across the country fanned out into their respective rural, backwood and northern spaces, it was the medium of watercolour an easily transportable and light material which lent itself so readily to the newly popular subject matter.
While many artists did use watercolours as an on-site sketching medium, many used those same paintings as source material for often larger and more highly finished works on canvas
that they produced in their home studios. The resulting public perception of watercolours as a lesser medium than others such as oil is a still recurrent problem for all practitioners despite the fact that watercolour is the more demanding medium. It was this very ill-informed perception that was behind the very founding of the Society as an exhibiting body where the individual art pieces would not be compared to neighbouring work in other less challenging materials.
Beginning in the 1930s, the National Gallery of Canada
was instrumental in assisting the CSPWC/SCPA with a series of high profile international exchange exhibitions with societies in New Zealand
, Brazil
, France
, Great Britain
and the USA. In addition, the National Gallery from 1933 onward sponsored a regular series of juried shows that toured across Canada. The Federal Government invited the CSPWC/SCPA to exhibit in the Canadian Pavilion at the 1938 British Empire Exhibition
and at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Both of these overseas exhibitions were praised by the international art press and served to increase the prestige of the Society.
With the outbreak of the Second World War a number of members were appointed official war artists and served in various capacities at home and on the war fronts. The regular series of exhibitions was obviously affected and only fully resumed in 1946.
The 1950s witnessed the creation of new areas of art scholarship with the development of both commercial art galleries and a new professional approach to art curatorships in the major public galleries. Finding that a sizeable percentage of the exhibition programme was taken up with the annual shows of regional and national arts groups, the new curatorial staff repositioned themselves. The last regular exhibition of the Society at the Art Gallery of Toronto was hosted in 1958 and subsequently there was a cooling of long treasured connections with Ottawa’s National Gallery
.
The leadership within the CSPWC/SCPA sought alternate gallery space and found it in a variety of venues from coast to coast. Regional galleries, libraries and university campuses hosted the annual exhibitions and a new sense of national identity was found within the Society. While the annual search for a venue created much work for a volunteer membership it did help develop a real sense of comradeship that has continued to the present day. While a number of other media-based institutions started to falter during this difficult period the CSPWC/SCPA worked very hard to keep itself viable and the annual juried show its "raison d'être
". Working from within its own resources and relying on elected members in far-flung communities, the regular annual exhibitions continued to take place but the cost of shipping, cataloguing and insurance were prohibitive and much of the work was performed by a small set of volunteers. It all became very draining, and as new commercial galleries sprung up, many members left to forge more lucrative connections.
at the National Academy Galleries in New York
. In 1975, an invitation was accepted to exhibit at the newly renovated Canada House
on Trafalgar Square
in London
. The same year the Art Gallery of Ontario hosted an “in-house” retrospective to salute the Society’s 50th anniversary. In 1976 the Society was able to organize a member exchange exhibition with Japan
that was exhibited at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
. This particular show, with the cooperation of a number of government and commercial partners was a critical success. The acclaim received gave the CSPWC/SCPA members a renewed sense of identity.
Working with Visual Arts Ontario, the Society was able to obtain permanent office space in the 1970s and was able to organize the first of a number of educational seminars that have evolved into today’s popular National Watercolour Symposiums. These week-long events have been held in virtually every part of the country and have been responsible for a major spurt in applications for membership.
When the time came to organize the CSPWC/SCPA 1985 Diamond Jubilee
the Society found that the world of art had again gone through some major changes. First there was a burst of new interest in the whole field of painting in watercolour that was particularly evident in Canada
and the United States
. There was also a realization in the art community that while there were many advantages to be found in the commercial galleries there were still other opportunities that could only be found in the context of the traditional societies. This was strongly reinforced when H.M. The Queen accepted the 60 paintings that had been juried as the “CSPWC Diamond Jubilee Collection” (later known as the Royal Collection Project - CSPWC, phase 1) into the fabled Royal Collection
at Windsor Castle
and exhibited them in 1986 in the Castle’s Drawing Gallery. Later the CSPWC/SCPA was deeply involved with a major touring exhibition “International Waters” that put Canadian paintings on exhibition with submissions from The Royal Watercolour Society
, The American Watercolor Society
, and the The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour
in venues in four different countries.
In the 1980s the CSPWC/SCPA was one of a number of major arts organizations that set up the John B. Aird Gallery/Galerie John B. Aird within the Ontario
Government administrative complex at Queen’s Park, Toronto
. The Aird Gallery, available to each of the societies for an annual exhibition, put the CSPWC/SCPA on a secure exhibition footing and yet still gave it the opportunity to seek exhibition opportunities across the nation. When their regular exhibition slot is not used for the Annual “Open Water” show it is devoted to member themed displays.
By the 1990s the CSPWC/SCPA had truly become a “national” society with a series of regional directors and members drawn from across the country. This continues today with the current outreach to involve greater participation from First Nation artists.
Celebrating the 75th anniversary in 2000 with its regular Annual “Open Water” exhibition, the CSPWC/SCPA unveiled the first Julius Griffith award given to “an elected member who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to the Society”. Once again adjudication of members’ works took place in order to send another 15 paintings to be added to the 60 Canadian holdings at the Royal Library
at Windsor Castle
to become a part of the CSPWC's Royal Collection Project. Those selected were displayed at the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto
and then at the Canadian High Commission in London
where they were, in 2001, formally accepted by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales
who is an Honourary Member of the CSPWC/SCPA.
There was also a members’ exhibition in Toronto that marked the anniversary thereby continuing a long tradition. As the year came to a close, a major retrospective show of the Society, “A Brush with History”, was organized by the Art Gallery of Mississauga.
”, a commissioned medal created by the distinguished Canadian sculptor Dora de Pédery-Hunt
, given “for outstanding achievement in watercolour painting” to the best work in the show. The medal is accompanied by a cash award. While these shows generate a number of sponsor-based awards the only other award actually funded by the Society is the “Charles Comfort
Medal” given for an outstanding figurative work.
In January 2008, the CSPWC/SCPA hosted an exhibition at the John B. Aird Gallery/Galerie John B. Aird which honoured the careers of ten outstanding Life Members. Titled “Treasures”, this show was the best attended Aird Gallery exhibition in decades. The next year saw another ten Life Members honoured in “Treasures 2009”.
The Society is a regular contributor to annual exhibitions at the Museo Nacional de le Acuarela in Mexico
.
The Society has a long history of encouraging younger artists and continues to sponsor awards at the NSCAD University (Arthur Lismer
Award), The Ontario College of Art & Design
(Fred Brigden Award), and the Alberta College of Art and Design
(June Montgomery Award).
Since the 1980s each member upon election is required to donate a significant and typical work to the Society’s Diploma Collection currently housed in the Peel Heritage Complex
, Art Gallery of Peel. This valuable resource which also includes earlier works by members is often referred to as the National Watercolour Collection. It is available as an exhibition and study resource, and part of the collection is exhibited on a regular basis.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: La Société Canadienne de Peintres en Aquarelle), founded in 1925 is considered to be Canada’s official national water colour Society. Since the 1980s the Society has enjoyed Vice-regal Patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
from the incumbent Governor-General of Canada. Recognized by a long list of international exhibitions it is the Canadian equivalent of such other national societies as the American Watercolor Society
American Watercolor Society
The American Watercolor Society is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States. It was founded in 1866 by eleven painters and, originally, was known as the American Society of Painters in Water Colors...
, USA; the Royal Watercolour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
, UK; etc.
The nation’s oldest medium-specific arts organization has had an illustrious history. Membership is looked upon as a mark of achieving peer recognition in one of the most difficult and demanding visual arts form.
The elected members are entitled to use the Society’s initials CSPWC (in French: SCPA) after their names.
The CSPWC shares with the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts is a Canadian arts-related institution founded in 1880, under the patronage of the Governor General of Canada, Sir John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, the Marquess of Lorne. Canadian landscape painter Homer Watson was a member and president of the Academy...
the distinction of being the two national visual arts organizations that have their membership diplomas signed by the Governor-General of Canada.
Early history
There is probably justification for including some of the indigenousIndigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
peoples as early users of versions of watercolour in their artwork and crafts. Using local materials and chemicals they certainly approximated the watercolour medium in some of their pigments and dyes while really not having any practical reason for exploring any inherent transparent qualities.
The first recorded use of a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an trained watercolourist working within what is today Canadian territory is believed to be the works of John White who accompanied the expeditions of Sir Martin Frobisher in the 1570s. Another early example of a gifted watercolourist working in the same region would be Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
who first arrived in 1603. Historically art-trained officers or cartographers were dispatched by both the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
governments to assist in the preparation of vitally important maps of these newly claimed lands and to record geographical features. There is a surviving wealth of early watercolours from this period which record landscape features and early settlements. Eagerly collected in today's art markets the best are notably housed in Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada is a national memory institution dedicated to providing the best possible account of Canadian life through acquiring, preserving and making Canada's documentary heritage accessible for use in the 21st century and beyond...
, the National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
and the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
.
Prior to the invention of the camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
, watercolour portrait miniatures, on vellum or ivory, were a staple in the homes of Canada’s urban elite.
By the nineteenth century there were a number of well known watercolourists such as Thomas Davies [1737-1812], George Heriot [1766-1844], Otto Jacobi [1812-1901], Charles Jones Way [1824-1919] and Canadian-born Lucius Richard O'Brien
Lucius Richard O'Brien
Lucius Richard O'Brien was an influential 19th-century Canadian oil and watercolour landscape artist.-Life and career:...
[1832-1899] working in various parts of the country. Kane became well known for his record of interactions with the First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
People as he travelled across western Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with The North West Company
The North West Company
The North West Company is a grocery and merchandise store in remote communities across northern Canada and Alaska. Through its subsidiary, Cost-U-Less stores it also operates in the US territories of Guam, The CNMI, and American Samoa and in the Caribbean....
and the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
. While Jacobi, Way and O'Brien and others involved themselves in the 1880 founding of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts is a Canadian arts-related institution founded in 1880, under the patronage of the Governor General of Canada, Sir John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, the Marquess of Lorne. Canadian landscape painter Homer Watson was a member and president of the Academy...
there had long been demands, especially in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, for the formation of a specifically medium based society.
While several of these early societies did survive for brief periods it was on November 11, 1925, that a group of like-minded artists met at the historic Arts & Letters Club of Toronto
The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto
The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto is a private club in Toronto, Ontario which brings together writers, architects, musicians, painters, graphic artists, actors, and others working in or with a love of the arts....
and founded the CSPWC/SCPA. Only when a working framework was proposed for membership under the honourary leadership of the noted painter R.F. Gagen did it seem possible that such a society could survive in the immense geographical reality that was Canada. Within a few years a set of bylaws had been established, a constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
approved and several Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
-based exhibitions held. The first elected President was Fred H. Brigden (1871–1951) a well-connected artist and educator who created a sense of vitality within the group and who encouraged many younger artists to apply for election.
The founding members of the CSPWC/SCPA were F.H. Brigden, A.J. Casson, Franklin Carmichael
Franklin Carmichael
Franklin Carmichael was a Canadian artist. He was the youngest original member of the Group of Seven.-Biography:The youngest of the Group of Seven, Franklin Carmichael was born in 1890. His father was a carriage maker...
, C.W. Jeffreys
Charles William Jefferys
Charles William Jefferys was a Canadian painter, illustrator, author, and teacher best known as a historical illustrator.-Biography:...
, F.S. Haines, L.A.C. Panton, R.F. Gagen, Thomas G. Greene, Robert Holmes, Franz Johnston, André Lapine, and E.J.Sampson.
When organizing the initial meeting these mainly Ontario-based artists did invite a number of nationally prominent watercolourists including W.J. Phillips and F.H. McGillivray who, being based at distances from Toronto, were unable to attend. However they did send strong letters of support and in reality should be considered "founders". This is significant because the inclusion of Florence H. McGillivray is evidence of the new society's willingness to accept female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
members from its inception.
Formative years
The CSPWC/SCPA, attracting attention in its infancy, was soon having its exhibitions hung at the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of OntarioArt Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
) and the National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
. This emphasis on exhibitions was crucial at the time as there were virtually no commercial galleries in the country. The only way an individual artist could make a living was by exhibiting with such societies as the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, the Ontario Society of Artists
Ontario Society of Artists
Founded in 1872, the Ontario Society of Artists is Canada's oldest continuously operating art society. The list of objectives drawn up by the founding executive included 'the fostering of Original Art in the province, the holding of Annual Exhibitions, and formation of an Art Library and Museum...
, and the Royal Canadian Academy, in a public gallery. The reality was that the emerging artist got public recognition by jury acceptance to exhibit with his or her better-known peer group, their fame adding lustre by association.
In the years between the First and Second World Wars, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
experienced a period of unexpected growth as demand for its agricultural products and mineral wealth made it one of the world’s strongest markets. As one of the signatories of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
in 1919, Canada was, unknown to itself at the time, seeking to establish its own identity separate from its earlier colonial rulers.
It was in the visual arts, initially in the area of landscape painting, that the new country found one of its strongest senses of self. As painters across the country fanned out into their respective rural, backwood and northern spaces, it was the medium of watercolour an easily transportable and light material which lent itself so readily to the newly popular subject matter.
While many artists did use watercolours as an on-site sketching medium, many used those same paintings as source material for often larger and more highly finished works on canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
that they produced in their home studios. The resulting public perception of watercolours as a lesser medium than others such as oil is a still recurrent problem for all practitioners despite the fact that watercolour is the more demanding medium. It was this very ill-informed perception that was behind the very founding of the Society as an exhibiting body where the individual art pieces would not be compared to neighbouring work in other less challenging materials.
Beginning in the 1930s, the National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
was instrumental in assisting the CSPWC/SCPA with a series of high profile international exchange exhibitions with societies in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and the USA. In addition, the National Gallery from 1933 onward sponsored a regular series of juried shows that toured across Canada. The Federal Government invited the CSPWC/SCPA to exhibit in the Canadian Pavilion at the 1938 British Empire Exhibition
British Empire Exhibition
The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley, Middlesex in 1924 and 1925.-History:It was opened by King George V on St George's Day, 23 April 1924. The British Empire contained 58 countries at that time, and only Gambia and Gibraltar did not take part...
and at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Both of these overseas exhibitions were praised by the international art press and served to increase the prestige of the Society.
With the outbreak of the Second World War a number of members were appointed official war artists and served in various capacities at home and on the war fronts. The regular series of exhibitions was obviously affected and only fully resumed in 1946.
Times change
In 1949, the Society’s annual exhibition at the Art Gallery of Toronto was reorganized to open up new rules to became the first truly “open”, as opposed to “invitational”, show in the Society’s history. That tradition, with some amendments, has continued to the present day with the current “Open Water” Annual Exhibition being open internationally to any artist working in the medium.The 1950s witnessed the creation of new areas of art scholarship with the development of both commercial art galleries and a new professional approach to art curatorships in the major public galleries. Finding that a sizeable percentage of the exhibition programme was taken up with the annual shows of regional and national arts groups, the new curatorial staff repositioned themselves. The last regular exhibition of the Society at the Art Gallery of Toronto was hosted in 1958 and subsequently there was a cooling of long treasured connections with Ottawa’s National Gallery
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
.
The leadership within the CSPWC/SCPA sought alternate gallery space and found it in a variety of venues from coast to coast. Regional galleries, libraries and university campuses hosted the annual exhibitions and a new sense of national identity was found within the Society. While the annual search for a venue created much work for a volunteer membership it did help develop a real sense of comradeship that has continued to the present day. While a number of other media-based institutions started to falter during this difficult period the CSPWC/SCPA worked very hard to keep itself viable and the annual juried show its "raison d'être
Raison d'être
Raison d'être is a French phrase meaning "reason for existence." It may also refer to:* Raison d'être , a Swedish dark-ambient-industrial-drone music project* Raison D'être , an album by Australian jazz fusion guitarist Frank Gambale...
". Working from within its own resources and relying on elected members in far-flung communities, the regular annual exhibitions continued to take place but the cost of shipping, cataloguing and insurance were prohibitive and much of the work was performed by a small set of volunteers. It all became very draining, and as new commercial galleries sprung up, many members left to forge more lucrative connections.
Rebounding
The long history of annual juried exhibitions continued into the 1970s and with the addition of exchange exhibitions with the American Watercolor SocietyAmerican Watercolor Society
The American Watercolor Society is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States. It was founded in 1866 by eleven painters and, originally, was known as the American Society of Painters in Water Colors...
at the National Academy Galleries in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In 1975, an invitation was accepted to exhibit at the newly renovated Canada House
Canada House
The High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom in London is the diplomatic mission from Canada to the United Kingdom. It is housed in two buildings in London.-History:...
on Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The same year the Art Gallery of Ontario hosted an “in-house” retrospective to salute the Society’s 50th anniversary. In 1976 the Society was able to organize a member exchange exhibition with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
that was exhibited at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
The is an art museum in Tokyo, Japan. It is located in Ueno Park.-External links:**...
. This particular show, with the cooperation of a number of government and commercial partners was a critical success. The acclaim received gave the CSPWC/SCPA members a renewed sense of identity.
Working with Visual Arts Ontario, the Society was able to obtain permanent office space in the 1970s and was able to organize the first of a number of educational seminars that have evolved into today’s popular National Watercolour Symposiums. These week-long events have been held in virtually every part of the country and have been responsible for a major spurt in applications for membership.
When the time came to organize the CSPWC/SCPA 1985 Diamond Jubilee
Diamond Jubilee
A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...
the Society found that the world of art had again gone through some major changes. First there was a burst of new interest in the whole field of painting in watercolour that was particularly evident in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. There was also a realization in the art community that while there were many advantages to be found in the commercial galleries there were still other opportunities that could only be found in the context of the traditional societies. This was strongly reinforced when H.M. The Queen accepted the 60 paintings that had been juried as the “CSPWC Diamond Jubilee Collection” (later known as the Royal Collection Project - CSPWC, phase 1) into the fabled Royal Collection
Royal Collection
The Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family. It is property of the monarch as sovereign, but is held in trust for her successors and the nation. It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as historical...
at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
and exhibited them in 1986 in the Castle’s Drawing Gallery. Later the CSPWC/SCPA was deeply involved with a major touring exhibition “International Waters” that put Canadian paintings on exhibition with submissions from The Royal Watercolour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
, The American Watercolor Society
American Watercolor Society
The American Watercolor Society is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States. It was founded in 1866 by eleven painters and, originally, was known as the American Society of Painters in Water Colors...
, and the The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour
The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour
The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours is a Scottish organisation of painters.It was founded in 1876, with the support of the Royal Scottish Academy, by artists to "promote, through exhibition, the medium of watercolour and encourage the bold, free and colourful qualities of...
in venues in four different countries.
In the 1980s the CSPWC/SCPA was one of a number of major arts organizations that set up the John B. Aird Gallery/Galerie John B. Aird within the Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
Government administrative complex at Queen’s Park, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. The Aird Gallery, available to each of the societies for an annual exhibition, put the CSPWC/SCPA on a secure exhibition footing and yet still gave it the opportunity to seek exhibition opportunities across the nation. When their regular exhibition slot is not used for the Annual “Open Water” show it is devoted to member themed displays.
By the 1990s the CSPWC/SCPA had truly become a “national” society with a series of regional directors and members drawn from across the country. This continues today with the current outreach to involve greater participation from First Nation artists.
Celebrating the 75th anniversary in 2000 with its regular Annual “Open Water” exhibition, the CSPWC/SCPA unveiled the first Julius Griffith award given to “an elected member who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to the Society”. Once again adjudication of members’ works took place in order to send another 15 paintings to be added to the 60 Canadian holdings at the Royal Library
Royal Library
Royal Library can mean:*Royal Library, Windsor - the royal library of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom*Danish Royal Library - the national library of Denmark*Dutch Royal Library - the national library of The Netherlands...
at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
to become a part of the CSPWC's Royal Collection Project. Those selected were displayed at the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto
The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto
The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto is a private club in Toronto, Ontario which brings together writers, architects, musicians, painters, graphic artists, actors, and others working in or with a love of the arts....
and then at the Canadian High Commission in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where they were, in 2001, formally accepted by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
who is an Honourary Member of the CSPWC/SCPA.
There was also a members’ exhibition in Toronto that marked the anniversary thereby continuing a long tradition. As the year came to a close, a major retrospective show of the Society, “A Brush with History”, was organized by the Art Gallery of Mississauga.
Present
The Annual “Open Water” show, open to all artists, continues to be the focus of the Society’s work, which can be hosted anywhere in the country. The most prestigious award is the “A. J. Casson AwardA. J. Casson Award
The A. J. Casson Award is given to an artist whose work is considered the best submission to the annual “Open Water” competition organized by the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour . It is named after Alfred Joseph Casson , painter. and a member of Canada's “Group of Seven”...
”, a commissioned medal created by the distinguished Canadian sculptor Dora de Pédery-Hunt
Dora de Pedery-Hunt
Dora de Pedery-Hunt, CM, O.Ont was an artist who designed various coins and medals and was awarded the Order of Canada. On September 29, 2008, she died from colorectal cancer....
, given “for outstanding achievement in watercolour painting” to the best work in the show. The medal is accompanied by a cash award. While these shows generate a number of sponsor-based awards the only other award actually funded by the Society is the “Charles Comfort
Charles Comfort
Charles Fraser Comfort, was a Canadian painter, sculptor, teacher, writer and administrator.-Early life:Born near Edinburgh, Scotland, Comfort moved to Winnipeg in 1912 with his family. His father found work with the treasury department for the city of Winnipeg. Comfort as the eldest child had to...
Medal” given for an outstanding figurative work.
In January 2008, the CSPWC/SCPA hosted an exhibition at the John B. Aird Gallery/Galerie John B. Aird which honoured the careers of ten outstanding Life Members. Titled “Treasures”, this show was the best attended Aird Gallery exhibition in decades. The next year saw another ten Life Members honoured in “Treasures 2009”.
The Society is a regular contributor to annual exhibitions at the Museo Nacional de le Acuarela in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
The Society has a long history of encouraging younger artists and continues to sponsor awards at the NSCAD University (Arthur Lismer
Arthur Lismer
Arthur Lismer, CC was an English-born Canadian painter and member of the Group of Seven.-Early life:At age 13 he apprenticed at a photo-engraving company. He was awarded a scholarship, and used this time to take evening classes at the Sheffield School of Arts from 1898 until 1905...
Award), The Ontario College of Art & Design
Ontario College of Art & Design
OCAD University is Canada's largest and oldest educational institution for art and design. It is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on McCaul Street beside the Art Gallery of Ontario...
(Fred Brigden Award), and the Alberta College of Art and Design
Alberta College of Art and Design
-History:The Alberta College of Art & Design is a Canadian degree-granting, publicly-funded art and design college located in Calgary . It was known as the Provincial Institute of Technology and Arts, which was part of SAIT until 1985...
(June Montgomery Award).
Since the 1980s each member upon election is required to donate a significant and typical work to the Society’s Diploma Collection currently housed in the Peel Heritage Complex
Peel Heritage Complex
The Peel Heritage Complex is a museum/art gallery/archives for the Peel Region, located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.Originally the Peel County Courthouse, Brampton Jail , and registry office, this complex hosts award-winning exhibition...
, Art Gallery of Peel. This valuable resource which also includes earlier works by members is often referred to as the National Watercolour Collection. It is available as an exhibition and study resource, and part of the collection is exhibited on a regular basis.
CSPWC/SCPA Presidents
- 1925-26 R.F.Gagen {honourary}
- 1926-28 Fred H. Brigden
- 1928-31 C.W. JeffreysCharles William JefferysCharles William Jefferys was a Canadian painter, illustrator, author, and teacher best known as a historical illustrator.-Biography:...
- 1931-32 T.G. Greene
- 1932-34 Franklin CarmichaelFranklin CarmichaelFranklin Carmichael was a Canadian artist. He was the youngest original member of the Group of Seven.-Biography:The youngest of the Group of Seven, Franklin Carmichael was born in 1890. His father was a carriage maker...
- 1934-38 Peter Haworth
- 1938-41 Carl Schaefer
- 1941-43 Charles Goldhammer
- 1943-45 Caven Atkins
- 1945-46 Jack BushJack BushJack Bush was a Canadian abstract expressionist painter, born in Toronto, Ontario in 1909 and he died there 24 January 1977...
- 1946-48 William Winter
- 1948-50 Paraskeva Clark
- 1950-52 Charles ComfortCharles ComfortCharles Fraser Comfort, was a Canadian painter, sculptor, teacher, writer and administrator.-Early life:Born near Edinburgh, Scotland, Comfort moved to Winnipeg in 1912 with his family. His father found work with the treasury department for the city of Winnipeg. Comfort as the eldest child had to...
- 1952-54 J.W.G. MacDonald
- 1954-56 Bobs Cogil Haworth
- 1956-58 Doris McCarthyDoris McCarthyDoris McCarthy, CM, O.Ont was a Canadian artist specializing in abstracted landscapes.Born in Calgary, Alberta, McCarthy attended the Ontario College of Art from , where she was awarded various scholarships and prizes...
- 1958-60 Julius Griffith
- 1960-62 D. Mackay Houston
- 1962-64 John Richmond
- 1964-65 Donald Neddeau
- 1965-67 Viktorus Brickus
- 1967-69 Barbara L. Greene
- 1969-72 John Henry Martin
- 1972-77 John Bennett
- 1977-79 Ray Cattell
- 1979-81 Julius Griffith
- 1981-84 William Sherman
- 1984-85 Gery Puley
- 1985-88 Osvald Timmas
- 1988-91 Rudolf StussiRudolf StussiRudolf Stussi is a Swiss-born artist who came to Canada in 1967 to attend Carlton University.-Biography:Stussi studied and taught at the Ontario College of Art, graduating in 1978. From 1988 to 1991 he was president of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour .Rudolf was involved in...
- 1991-93 Marc Critoph
- 1993-95 Anthony J. Batten
- 1995-97 Margaret L. Squire
- 1997-99 Chuck Burns
- 1999-2001 Ed Shawcross
- 2001-03 Neville Clarke
- 2003-05 Tim Packer
- 2005-07 Marc L. Gagnon
- 2007-09 Marlene Madole
- 2009-11 Peter Marsh
- 2011- Katherine Zarull