Laura Muntz Lyall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Muntz Lyall
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| Born |
Laura Adeline Muntz
June 18, 1860 |
| Died | December 9, 1930 (aged 70) |
| Education | Ontario School of Art, Académie Colarossi |
| Known for | Painter |
| Movement | Impressionism |
| Spouse(s) | Charles W.B. Lyall (m. 1915) |
Laura Muntz Lyall (born June 18, 1860, died December 9, 1930) was a talented Canadian artist. She was known for her beautiful paintings, especially those showing women and children. Laura Muntz Lyall was part of the Impressionist art movement. This style of painting uses small, thin brushstrokes to show how light changes things.
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Life of a Painter
Laura Adeline Muntz was born in Royal Leamington Spa, England, in 1860. When she was a child, her family moved to Canada. She grew up on a farm in the Muskoka District of Ontario.
As a young woman, Laura loved art. She started taking painting lessons from William Charles Forster in Hamilton. In 1882, she began studying at the Ontario School of Art in Toronto. There, she learned from famous artists like Lucius Richard O'Brien and George Agnew Reid.
In 1891, Laura went to Paris, France, to study art for seven years. She attended a famous art school called the Académie Colarossi. While there, she often painted children. From 1893 onwards, her paintings started to show the style of Impressionism.
To help pay for her studies, Laura gave English lessons. She also shared apartments with another art student, Wilhelmina Douglas Hawley. They even traveled together to the Netherlands to paint.
Becoming a Recognized Artist
Laura Muntz Lyall's paintings were shown at big events. These included the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Her art was also displayed in French exhibitions. Because of this, her paintings were featured in magazines like L'Illustration. Art critics in Canada and England also wrote about her work. This helped her become more famous and sell her paintings.
In 1896, the Académie Colarossi in Paris recognized her talent. They made her "massière," which meant she was in charge of the art studio.
Laura decided to return to Canada in 1898. She opened her own art studio in Toronto. She taught art and continued to paint. She was known for painting many different subjects. In 1906, she moved to Montreal. There, she became known as a top Canadian artist for painting children's portraits.
Her work gained recognition both in Canada and other countries. She won a silver medal at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. She also received a bronze medal at the 1904 Canadian exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. She showed many paintings with the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Critics praised her clear and caring way of painting. They noted that her art looked natural but was the result of years of hard work.
Joining Art Groups
Laura Muntz Lyall was elected as an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1896. She was only the eighth woman to receive this special honor.
She also joined the Ontario Society of Artists in 1891. In 1899, she became the first woman to be part of its Executive Council. She served there until 1903. In 1909, she was the only woman invited to exhibit with the Canadian Art Club. This showed how respected she was in the art world.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1915, Laura's sister passed away. Laura returned to Toronto and married her brother-in-law, Charles W.B. Lyall. She did this to help care for her sister's children. She set up a studio in the attic of their home. After her marriage, she started signing her paintings with her married name, Laura Muntz Lyall.
In 1921, she traveled to Devon, England, with her husband. There, she painted new landscapes. Critics admired how she used light and color in these paintings. They believed she could have been a major landscape painter if she had chosen to focus on that.
Laura Muntz Lyall continued to paint even when she was not feeling well. She passed away in 1930. She is buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.
Today, Laura Muntz Lyall is seen as an important example of a woman achieving success in a field mostly dominated by men. Her art showed her support for women during her time. Her painting The Watcher was featured in an online exhibition by Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Her painting A Daffodil was shown at the National Gallery of Canada in 2021. Her work is also part of the Gallery’s exhibition Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons.
Collections
You can find Laura Muntz Lyall's artwork in the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Paintings
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Oriental Poppies
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Portrait of a young woman
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Young girl holding daffodils
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The Little Red Head
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Trees by the river (1900)
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Interesting Story (1898)
See also
In Spanish: Laura Muntz Lyall para niños
