Mabel May facts for kids

Henrietta Mabel May (born September 11, 1877, died October 8, 1971) was an important Canadian artist from the early 1900s. She was known for her paintings and for helping to create art groups that supported other artists, especially women.

About Henrietta Mabel May's Life

Henrietta Mabel May was born in Montreal, Quebec. She grew up in areas called Verdun and Westmount. From a young age, Mabel was interested in art. However, she was the fifth of ten children. She waited until her mid-twenties to go to art school. This was because she helped care for her younger brothers and sisters.

Early Art Education

In 1902, Mabel May began studying at the Art Association of Montreal. She learned from teachers like William Brymner and Alberta Cleland. She even won scholarships twice! After finishing her studies in 1912, she traveled to Europe. She visited Paris, Brittany, and London with her friend, artist Emily Coonan. While in Europe, she painted scenes that showed her learning about Impressionism.

Painting During Wartime

When she returned to Canada in 1913, Mabel May was ready to paint Canadian scenes. During the First World War, she was asked to paint women working in factories. These women were making supplies for the war. One of her most famous paintings from this time is Women Making Shells (1919). It shows women working hard in a factory.

Later Artistic Style

After 1920, Mabel May's painting style changed. It was influenced by Post-Impressionism and the famous Group of Seven. Her art became more unique and stylized. She often painted landscapes and human figures. Her brushstrokes were strong, and she blended colors to make them look natural.

Where Mabel May Worked

Mabel May started her career in Quebec. She taught art from her studio in Montreal. She also taught at the Elmwood School in Ottawa. For ten years, she worked with the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Later, she moved back to Quebec. She finished her career in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Art Groups and Exhibitions

Mabel May was involved in many important art groups. She helped organize and show her work with groups like the Art Association of Montreal. She also helped create the Beaver Hall Group and the Canadian Group of Painters. Her paintings are now in many famous galleries. These include the Canadian War Museum, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts Montréal.

The Beaver Hall Group

In 1920, Mabel May helped start the Beaver Hall Group in Montreal. This group supported local artists and held art shows. Many members had studied at the Art Association of Montreal. The Beaver Hall Group was very modern for its time. It allowed women to join and have important roles. Even after the group officially ended around 1924, many of the women artists stayed friends. They continued to work and exhibit their art together. Some of these artists were Prudence Heward, Lilias Torrance Newton, and Anne Savage.

In 1924, Mabel May painted with A.Y. Jackson from the Group of Seven. This helped her develop her landscape painting style. In 1927, Mabel May and other women from the Beaver Hall Group met with the famous British Columbian painter Emily Carr.

The Canadian Group of Painters

After the Beaver Hall Group, Mabel May helped found a new group called the Canadian Group of Painters. This group started in 1933. They had their first art show in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This group was a follow-up to the Group of Seven and the Beaver Hall Group.

Mabel May was part of the Canadian Group of Painters for several years. During this time, the Great Depression made money tight for her family. She moved to Ottawa, Ontario, and taught at a private school. In 1938, she became the leader of children's art classes at the National Gallery of Canada. She taught there for 12 years. In 1950, she moved back to Montreal, and later to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Mabel May's Artistic Style

Mabel May mostly painted with oil paints. At first, she was inspired by the Impressionists. She focused on landscapes but also painted people. Her paintings often had strong, pleasing brushstrokes. The colors she used were carefully mixed, not just straight from the tube. When she traveled to Paris, its culture inspired her art.

She often painted at her family's second home in Hudson, Quebec. These countryside views led to some of her best works. In 1913, her paintings started getting a lot of attention. She won the Art Association of Montreal's Jessie Dow Award in 1914 and 1918. The National Gallery of Canada bought several of her paintings. In 1915, she became an associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Mabel May was a bold painter. She painted unusual scenes that people might not expect from a woman artist. For example, Women Making Shells showed women working in a factory, which was a new sight at the time.

As she joined the Beaver Hall Group, her style changed from Impressionism. Her art became more realistic. She showed a better understanding of light and atmosphere in her landscapes. She was greatly influenced by the Group of Seven. Her painting Melting Snow (1925) shows dancing water and mountains with flat colors and loose brushstrokes in the sky.

Art Collections

Many of Mabel May's paintings are in important art collections:

• The Market under the Trees (1912-3), The Regatta (1914), Street Scene, Montreal (1914), Boats on the St. Lawrence (1916), In the Laurentians (1925), The Village (1925), and Melting Snow (1925) are at the National Gallery of Canada.
• Été (about 1935) and Paysage d'automne (about 1930) are at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.
• Three Sisters (1915) is at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
• Snowflakes, Studio Window (1925) is at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
• Autumn in the Laurentians (1925) is at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Art Exhibitions

Mabel May showed her art often. She participated in the Art Association of Montreal's spring shows from 1910 to 1967. She also showed her work at the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts from 1910 to 1952. She exhibited with the Group of Seven in Toronto in 1928, 1930, and 1931. As a founder of the Canadian Group of Painters, she also showed her art with them.

Her work was shown internationally in places like the British Empire Exhibition in England. It was also displayed at the Musée du Jeu de Paume in Paris, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Tate Gallery in London. When she retired to Vancouver at age 50, she had a special show of her past work. This show sold 100 of her paintings!

After she passed away, there was an exhibition of her work and other artists from the Beaver Hall Group in 1982. In 2015, the Musée des Beaux-Arts Montréal organized a tour of a show called 1920s Modernism in Montreal: The Beaver Hall Group, which included Mabel May's art.

Personal Life

Mabel May never married. However, she was very close to her nine brothers and sisters. After the Beaver Hall Group studios closed, she remained good friends with the other women artists. These friends included Lilias Torrance Newton, Mabel Lockerby, and Anne Savage. Anne Savage remembered Mabel May as a wonderful painter and person:

She was a brilliant figure at the gallery. She painted with such vigour and strength - gay, rhythmic colour using the impressionist's technique of scintillating colour. She spent some time in France, came back radiant - loved life - painted in the landscapes of the Eastern Townships, where she built up her singing happy pictures.