Kathleen Daly facts for kids

Kathleen Frances Daly (also known as Kathleen Daly Pepper) was a Canadian painter. She was born on May 28, 1898, and passed away on August 31, 1994. She is famous for her paintings of First Nations and Inuit people in Canada.

Life of Kathleen Daly

Kathleen Frances Daly was born in Napanee, Ontario, on May 28, 1898. She came from an important family. She went to Havergal College, a boarding school for girls in Toronto. In 1920, she was accepted into the University of Toronto.

Artistic Training and Travels

Kathleen studied art at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto from 1920 to 1924. Some of her teachers were famous artists like Arthur Lismer and J. E. H. MacDonald. After that, she traveled to Paris, France, to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière (1924–1925). She also took private lessons in wood engraving. Later, she studied in New York at the Parsons School of Design in 1926.

Between 1924 and 1930, Kathleen made a sketching trip to Europe every year. She visited places like the Basque Country, Italy, and France.

Marriage and Canadian Adventures

Kathleen Daly met George Pepper, who was also an artist, in Paris. They got married in 1929 and moved back to Canada. They first lived in Ottawa, Ontario.

The Peppers loved to travel and paint. In 1930, they explored the north shore of Lake Superior. They also visited Charlevoix County in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec. They went to Nova Scotia and the Gaspé region in 1931. In 1932, they returned to Quebec.

In 1932, George Pepper became a teacher at the Ontario College of Art. So, Kathleen and George moved to Toronto.

Life in Quebec and Toronto

In 1933, they built a log studio in Charlevoix County, Quebec. Here, Kathleen painted scenes of French-Canadian life and landscapes. Their cabin was in the village of Saint-Urbain. They became good friends with a local family, the l'Abbés, who were very welcoming. Other artists would often stay at the l'Abbé farmhouse.

From 1934 to 1951, the Peppers lived and worked at the Studio Building in Toronto. They continued to travel widely across Canada. They visited the east and west coasts and even went as far north as Ellesmere Island.

In 1936, Kathleen painted portraits of the Innu (Montagnais Indians) from the Lac St. Jean area. In 1938-1939, she painted the Quebec landscape and its people, known as habitants.

Later Travels and Focus on Indigenous Peoples

In 1952, Daly visited Mexico. Later, she traveled in Spain and Morocco. In 1954, the Peppers spent ten days on a fishing boat on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. They sketched the fishermen at work.

A big adventure happened in 1960. They traveled on a Canadian government ship to the Eastern Arctic for three months. They drew and painted the Inuit people and the amazing ice formations. They also wrote reports about Inuit art for the government. In 1961, they spent seven weeks living with an Inuit family. They painted the Inuit people of Puvirnituq and the District of Ungava. Her paintings from this time were featured in the government's North magazine.

George Pepper passed away in 1962. Kathleen Daly kept traveling and painting in Quebec and other parts of Canada. She died in Toronto on August 21, 1994, at the age of 96.

Kathleen Daly's Art Work

Kathleen Daly's paintings have strong lines and a good sense of rhythm. Her work has been compared to the Group of Seven, a famous group of Canadian painters. The Peppers were good friends with A. Y. Jackson, a member of the Group of Seven. He also lived in the Studio Building and influenced their landscape paintings.

Like the Group of Seven, Kathleen's art used strong designs and bold patterns. However, she chose different subjects. She painted Canada's Indigenous peoples, fishermen, and miners, going beyond what the Group of Seven usually painted.

Social Themes in Her Art

Her paintings of Quebec often showed more than just pretty scenes. They also showed her interest in the social and economic lives of the country people. Some of her paintings of Indigenous people also showed her concern for social issues. For example, her pictures of Inuit mothers caring for their children showed them as strong and independent. They also highlighted how these mothers helped preserve their language and culture.

Daly also created illustrations for a book called Kingdom of the Saguenay (1936) by Marius Barbeau. In 1966, she published a book about another artist, James Wilson Morrice.

Her Legacy

Kathleen Daly was a very productive artist. In 1975, she provided a long list of her work to the National Gallery of Canada. This list included her painting trips, exhibitions, books, and articles. She left over forty paintings by herself and George Pepper to the University of Lethbridge. More than five hundred paintings by her and her husband were given to the Centre d’art Baie-Saint-Paul.

Some of her works are held at the National Gallery of Canada, including:

• Mackerel, 1931. An oil painting on canvas.
• René, 1935. An oil painting on canvas.
• L'escalier canadien, around 1939. An oil painting on canvas.

Her art can also be found in other public galleries, such as the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton. Many of her drawings and paintings were bought by private collectors.

Exhibitions and Memberships

Between 1930 and 1956, Kathleen Daly's art was shown in all the major exhibitions in Canada. Her work was also displayed in London, England. She exhibited at places like Hart House (1935) and the British Empire Exhibition (1936). Her art was part of the "A Century of Canadian Art" exhibition (1938) and shown at the Tate in London (1938).

She often exhibited her work with the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and the Ontario Society of Artists. She and her husband, George Pepper, often showed their art together. In 1999, a special show of their combined work was held at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario.

Kathleen Daly joined the Canadian Group of Painters in 1934. She became a member of the Ontario Society of Artists in 1936. In 1937, she became an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and then a full Academician in 1961. She was also an executive member of the Heliconian Club in Toronto.

Signature

Kathleen Daly's art is known under her birth name. She often signed her paintings with Kay or K. Daly.

See also

• George Douglas Pepper