Catherine Senitt facts for kids
Catherine Senitt (born in 1945 in Rochester, NY) is a Canadian artist and the person who created the popular Wrinkles dogs plush toys. Her artworks are kept in important art galleries in Canada. Even though she hasn't shown her art publicly since 1979, her paintings are still highly valued.
Life and Work
Catherine Senitt grew up in Rochester, NY. She studied art and design at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her artistic talent was noticed early on. In 1964, she won the John A. Varney Award. Then, in 1966, when she was 21, she was named "Best Female Artist" at the Finger Lakes Exhibit.
After her third year of art school, Catherine moved to Canada in 1966. She first lived in Toronto for nine months. Later, she moved to a old school house near Fergus, Ontario.
In the late 1960s, she became a successful painter in Toronto. She used the name Cathy Senitt-Harbison for her art. Her work was shown at the well-known Pollock Gallery starting in 1967. The gallery owner, Jack Pollock, also showed art by other famous artists. Catherine's work was displayed there until 1975. She also showed her art at the Merton Gallery from 1977 to 1978.
In 1968, Catherine received her first grant from the Canada Council. This grant helped her continue her art.
Catherine's art was chosen for a big show called "Man and His World" at Expo 67 in Montreal. Expo 67 was a huge world's fair. She was also chosen to be part of Canada's display at Expo 70 in Osaka, Japan. Her work was also included in the first show at the Art Gallery of Ontario after it was renamed.
In January 1969, Maclean's Magazine featured a picture of a sculpture Catherine had made. It was a paper mache sculpture of Pierre Trudeau, who was Canada's Prime Minister. A 1974 article in the Toronto Star newspaper showed what Catherine's life was like. It included pictures of her schoolhouse home and her painting while sitting on the floor. The article also mentioned that her painted bottles sold for $30–50 at the Pollock gallery.
In the late 1970s, Catherine Senitt created the Wrinkles plush toy. She also made many other animal puppets. Around 1980, she stopped her art career. She moved to Carnarvon, Ontario, to focus on raising her four children. During this time, she patented many of her toys. She also started a company called Senitt Puppets to make them. The toys were licensed to Ganz Brothers. In 1986, they were licensed to Coleco for sale in the United States.
Catherine's art is known for being very creative. She often uses simple, natural forms in her work. Many of her paintings show unusual human shapes. She has also created series of works focusing on abstract portraits, her pet dog named Red Dog, and forms that mix humans and animals. Catherine Senitt currently lives and works in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Collections
Catherine Senitt's paintings are kept in the permanent collections of these places:
- Art Gallery of Ontario
- Art Gallery of Windsor
- Art Gallery of Hamilton
- University of Saskatchewan
- Queen's University
- Trent University
- Seneca College
- Canada Council Art Bank
Awards
- John A. Varney Award, Brockport, 1964
- Finger Lakes Exhibit, Best Female Artist, 1966
- Canada Council Grant, 1968
- Childe Hassam Purchase Award, 1969
- Aviva Hadassah, First Prize, 1971 and 1972
- Canada Council Grant, 1974
- Ontario Arts Council Grant, 1975
- Ontario Arts Council Grant, 1979
