Mary E. Wrinch facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Evelyn Wrinch
Born	1877 (1877) Kirby-le-Soken, United Kingdom
Died	1969 (aged 90–91) Toronto, Canada
Nationality	English-born Canadian
Education	Central Ontario School of Art, Grosvenor School of Modern Art
Known for	Painter, Graphic artist, teacher
Spouse(s)	George Agnew Reid ​ (m. 1922)​

Mary Evelyn Wrinch (1877–1969) was a talented Canadian artist. She created many kinds of art, including tiny paintings, oil paintings, and block prints. Her art often showed the beautiful landscapes of Northern Ontario.

Mary Wrinch helped create a unique 'Canadian style' of painting. She used bright, bold colours to show places like Algoma, Muskoka, and Lake Superior. She painted these scenes right where she saw them. Her small paintings on ivory showed people with great life and energy. Her colourful block prints are also excellent examples of her skill.

Early Life and Education

Mary Wrinch was born in 1877 in Kirby-le-Soken, Essex, in the United Kingdom. Her parents were Leonard and Elizabeth Cooper Wrinch. When her father passed away, she moved to Bronte, Ontario, Canada, with her mother at age eight.

After a trip back to England, they moved to Toronto, Ontario, in 1889. In Toronto, Mary attended the Bishop Strachan School, a private school. From 1889 to 1893, she studied at the Central Ontario School of Art. This school is now known as OCAD University. There, she learned both printmaking and painting.

Mary continued her art studies in London, England, at the Grosvenor School of Modern Art until 1899. She later returned to Toronto to study at the Ontario College of Art & Design. She also took private art lessons in London, England, and New York. Later, she joined the Art Students’ League in New York.

Artistic Career and Contributions

Mary Wrinch first became known for her miniature paintings on ivory in Toronto. Around 1906, she started painting landscapes. She made a sketch of a sawmill in Muskoka during a visit. Back in Toronto, she created a larger painting called Saw Mill, Muskoka. This painting is now in the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Around 1928, she began creating colourful linoleum block prints. From 1901 to 1936, Mary Wrinch was the Art Director at the Bishop Strachan School. She designed the school's chapel interior, including a large stained-glass window.

Mary Wrinch was a member of many important art groups. She became an Associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. She also worked with the Ontario Society of Artists, which supports visual arts in Ontario. She was part of the Heliconian Club and the Women's Art Association of Canada. These groups help connect and promote women in the arts.

She was also a member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour. Other groups included the American Society of Miniature Painters and the Canadian Society of Graphic Art.

Mary Wrinch had her first commercial art show in 1966. It featured 50 of her works. Her first public exhibition was in 1969 at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

From 1925 onwards, Mary often sketched with her husband, George Reid. They explored places like Algoma, Temagami, and the Bruce Peninsula. She stopped creating art in 1944. In 2020, the Art Gallery of Ontario showed her miniature portraits and landscape prints in a special exhibit.

Famous Artwork

This linocut print by Mary Wrinch is called Scarboro. It was made between 1935 and 1938.

Mary Wrinch used many art forms, including oil paint, watercolour, drawing, and printmaking. She is most famous for her linoleum block prints. She started making black and white linoleum prints in 1928. By 1930, she began adding colour to her prints using linocut techniques.

Her prints often showed landscapes of Northern Ontario and beautiful flowers. Two of her most well-known works are Breaking Clouds (1931–1932) and Scarboro (1935–1938). Both are colourful linocut prints on wove paper. You can find them in the Canadian Prints and Drawings section of the National Gallery of Canada.

Her paintings are also found in many art collections. These include the Art Gallery of Ontario, Museum London, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the Robert McLaughlin Gallery.

Personal Life

In 1922, Mary Wrinch married George Agnew Reid. He was a mural painter and architect from Toronto. George had been her teacher at the Central Ontario School of Art. He was also a friend to Mary Wrinch and his first wife, Mary Hiester Reid. George married Mary Wrinch soon after his first wife passed away.

Mary and George lived together in the Wychwood Park area of Toronto. This area was known as an arts and crafts community. It was started in 1888 as a private neighbourhood for artists and business people. George Agnew Reid passed away in 1947, after 25 years of marriage to Mary Wrinch. Mary Wrinch died in Toronto in 1969 when she was 90 years old.

See also

• Group of Seven (artists)
• George Reid