Latest news with #MacDonald-Brown
CBC
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
She's thought to be Canada's first Black woman painter. Now the public can finally see her art
When a former coworker told David Woods that her mother was a painter, it would've been totally normal for the Nova Scotian artist, curator and multi-hyphenate to brush it off as water-cooler talk, an easy-to-forget conversational placeholder. Luckily, Woods had the good sense to follow up. "I think the first thing that struck me, when I walked into her home in Sackville, was that I didn't realize the level of artistry that she was referencing," he remembers. Hanging on the walls of his colleague's home weren't just the pictures of a hobbyist. It turns out that her mother was someone thought to be the first documented Black woman painter in the country, one whose works were never shown publicly — until now: An artist named Edith MacDonald-Brown. "A lot of the works were done in the late 19th century, so late 1800s and early 1900s. And a lot of them were executed when she was a teenager: You know, 12, 13, 14 years old," Woods says. "So, I was just totally amazed by that. You look at comparative works at that time period, she would've equaled or surpassed most of the artists that were creating work in the province at the time." Born in Africville — a historic African Nova Scotian enclave in Halifax that the city demolished in the 1960s — in 1886, facts about MacDonald-Brown's life are scant. Woods says she was classically trained, producing "salon-type style painting of the late 1800s" that would've been similar to what was popular in Paris at the time. The Canadian Women Artists History's Artist Database claims many of MacDonald-Brown's works were lost in the razing of Africville. She gave up painting after marriage — a common occurrence for women artists in that era — and never pursued a career making art. "Not that that was a thing back then for women, anyway," Woods says. "It's not like you can Google her name and there's all this stuff," he adds. "She never exhibited while she was an artist." Woods says MacDonald-Brown is "important for a number of reasons. First, as an artist, she was brilliant," he explains. "It was a level of brilliance at such an early age, and one can only imagine if she had had the opportunity to paint professionally, how far [she'd have gone]: These were essentially student works. You can imagine, if she, with that level of mastery, had gone on to a career in art, how far she would have gone." But it isn't just artistic excellence that makes MacDonald-Brown's name one that should be well-known. "The second thing is she comes from a community that has been disparaged for almost all of its existence — and where one leads you to think that this level of achievement of people from here would not have reached that kind of level," he says. "So, it's important: She came from Africville and was an accomplished artist from that community. And then the third importance is that when we talk about Black, African-Canadian history in art, most of the commentators start with Black immigrant art. So, this allows us to show that there's a deeper root." Woods would know: After that day in his colleague's dining room, he has been working on restoring both the works and legacy of MacDonald-Brown. The result? He has curated the first-ever exhibition of her works, From Africville: The Paintings of Edith MacDonald-Brown, on view at the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery. If you're thinking her story sounds a little familiar, if her working in relative obscurity and then gaining bigger recognition posthumously, makes you think of another famous Nova Scotian woman artist, Woods is quick to cut any nascent Maud Lewis comparisons. "I'm not sure they are comparable in any way," he says. The self-taught Lewis, he says "was a known entity, and a lot of people owned the work, and she was kind of a folk hero while she lived." Meanwhile, classically trained MacDonald-Brown "was virtually unknown outside of her family. So nobody possessed her work. All of her works belonged to her family. She never sold works. She didn't interact with society as an artist." Then there's the matter of style: Lewis's works are in the tradition of folk art, meaning she painted without following convention. MacDonald-Brown, meanwhile, displays her classical background in the way her art looks and feels. The story and work of MacDonald-Brown fits into Woods's work overall: Back in 1997, he mounted the first exhibition of Black art in Nova Scotia—and has been correcting the historical record of art history in this country ever since by highlighting erased names. There are two other shows curated by Woods currently on view in Canada that similarly highlight overlooked Black contributions to art history: Hidden Blackness: Edward Mitchell Bannister (1828-1901) at the Owens Art Gallery in Sackville, New Brunswick and The Secret Codes, a group showcase of African Nova Scotian quilts that's headed to the Canadian Museum of History after successful showings in P.E.I., Toronto and Nova Scotia. Woods adds that the MSVU Gallery show took years to come to fruition, not least because of the amount of work required to restore MacDonald-Brown's art. "They hadn't been treated or touched for over 100 years," he says, listing how one piece had been partially painted over, one was ripped and all had accumulated decades of dust that, without restoration, makes the images themselves harder to see. "I was just glad I had the opportunity to preserve her work, because many of our works might not have lasted much longer," Woods says. "So we now know that they are recorded and that they will be written about. They will be celebrated, and the images will be shared by many."
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
More than a century after her last painting, Africville artist gets first solo exhibition
When David Woods volunteered at the north-end library in Halifax in the 1980s, one of the women he ran into regularly there used to tell him about how her mother used to paint. And although she used to bring this up frequently, she didn't provide a lot of details. When Woods was putting together an exhibition of Black Nova Scotian art in the late 1990s, he thought back to those conversations with Ruth Johnson. He then went over to her house to see some of the paintings her mother, Edith MacDonald-Brown, had done. Woods used some of the paintings in the exhibition and struck by the quality of the work, Woods promised to one day put together a solo exhibition of MacDonald-Brown's work. While Johnson died in 2003, his promise to her has finally been fulfilled. Edith MacDonald-Brown painted this work in 1899, when she would have been 13 years old. (Collection of the Brown-Howe Family, Africville, NS) From Africville: The Paintings of Edith MacDonald-Brown opens Saturday at Mount Saint Vincent University's art gallery. "What amazes me is that she did some of these works when she was, like 13, 14, 15 years old and part of [her] training was replicating works of masters, you know, established paintings, but if you look at the originals and you look at her work, it would be hard for you to distinguish who was the master," said Woods. This is the oldest known work by MacDonald-Brown and would have been painted when she was 12 years old. (Collection of the Brown-Howe Family, Africville, NS) MacDonald-Brown was born in Africville, N.S., in 1886, and grew up in the north-end Halifax community, as well as Montreal. Her earliest known painting was done in 1898, while her last known work was in 1913. Her paintings cover nature and rural life. MacDonald-Brown returned to Africville around 1914 to marry a man, which corresponds with when her artwork ceased. She died in 1954. Melanie Colosimo, director of the Mount's art gallery, said MacDonald-Brown's work fits in well with the gallery's mandate of focusing on women as artists, but also because of the university's proximity to Africville. David Woods, curator of From Africville: The Paintings of Edith MacDonald-Brown, says he feels he's fulfilled a promise he made to MacDonald-Brown's daughter, Ruth Johnson, in putting together a solo exhibition of her mom's work. (Richard Woodbury/CBC) Africville residents were displaced and their homes demolished by the City of Halifax in the 1960s. By early 1970, the last resident left the community and approximately 400 people from 80 families had been relocated. Colosimo wonders what MacDonald-Brown's work would have looked like if she continued making art. "What would her subjects have been, being a resident in Africville and the stories that she had and her family had and watching her children grow up?" said Colosimo. "That is what is, I think, one of the most interesting aspects of this show is there was so much talent and we didn't get to see that yet." The exhibit features nine of MacDonald-Brown's 13 known works, which are on loan from family members, including great-granddaughter Colleen Howe-Boone. Howe-Boone is in town for Saturday's opening, having travelled from Virginia Beach, Va., for the event. "It's spiritual for me to see her [artwork], recognizing this is my great-grandmother," said Howe-Boone. She said within her family, there are many people who are artistically inclined, which she credits MacDonald-Brown as being responsible for. This is a painting from 1909 by MacDonald-Brown. (Collection of the Brown-Howe Family, Africville, NS) Howe-Boone thinks MacDonald-Brown's story tells another side of Africville's history. "A lot of the stories that people would hear coming out of Africville, 'They were destitute and they were poor and they didn't have anything,'" said Howe-Boone. "Well, they were a proud people and they had homes and they gardened and they kept their property up and it was taken from them and stripped from them. And so when I look at the land in Africville, that's the land of Edith Brown." Melanie Colosimo, director of the Mount Saint Vincent University art gallery, says the Edith MacDonald-Brown exhibit fits in with the gallery's mandate of focusing on women as artists, but also because of the university's proximity to Africville. (Richard Woodbury/CBC) Colosimo hopes that by drawing attention to MacDonald-Brown's work, people will continue researching her life, and perhaps some unknown works of art of hers will surface. Woods hopes the exhibit brings long-overdue recognition. "We have these gifts and we can only be grateful that we still have them, you know, 100 years later to celebrate and to perhaps bring some honour to her for her art that she did not receive during the time that she was creating the works," he said. The exhibit runs until April 26. For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here. (CBC) MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
15-02-2025
- General
- CBC
More than a century after her last painting, Africville artist gets first solo exhibition
When David Woods volunteered at the north-end library in Halifax in the 1980s, one of the women he ran into regularly there used to tell him about how her mother used to paint. And although she used to bring this up frequently, she didn't provide a lot of details. When Woods was putting together an exhibition of Black Nova Scotian art in the late 1990s, he thought back to those conversations with Ruth Johnson. He then went over to her house to see some of the paintings her mother, Edith MacDonald-Brown, had done. Woods used some of the paintings in the exhibition and struck by the quality of the work, Woods promised to one day put together a solo exhibition of MacDonald-Brown's work. While Johnson died in 2003, his promise to her has finally been fulfilled. From Africville: The Paintings of Edith MacDonald-Brown opens Saturday at Mount Saint Vincent University's art gallery. "What amazes me is that she did some of these works when she was, like 13, 14, 15 years old and part of [her] training was replicating works of masters, you know, established paintings, but if you look at the originals and you look at her work, it would be hard for you to distinguish who was the master," said Woods. MacDonald-Brown was born in Africville, N.S., in 1886, and grew up in the north-end Halifax community, as well as Montreal. Her earliest known painting was done in 1898, while her last known work was in 1913. Her paintings cover nature and rural life. MacDonald-Brown returned to Africville around 1914 to marry a man, which corresponds with when her artwork ceased. She died in 1954. Melanie Colosimo, director of the Mount's art gallery, said MacDonald-Brown's work fits in well with the gallery's mandate of focusing on women as artists, but also because of the university's proximity to Africville. Africville residents were displaced and their homes demolished by the City of Halifax in the 1960s. By early 1970, the last resident left the community and approximately 400 people from 80 families had been relocated. Colosimo wonders what MacDonald-Brown's work would have looked like if she continued making art. "What would her subjects have been, being a resident in Africville and the stories that she had and her family had and watching her children grow up?" said Colosimo. "That is what is, I think, one of the most interesting aspects of this show is there was so much talent and we didn't get to see that yet." The exhibit features nine of MacDonald-Brown's 13 known works, which are on loan from family members, including great-granddaughter Colleen Howe-Boone. Howe-Boone is in town for Saturday's opening, having travelled from Virginia Beach, Va., for the event. "It's spiritual for me to see her [artwork], recognizing this is my great-grandmother," said Howe-Boone. She said within her family, there are many people who are artistically inclined, which she credits MacDonald-Brown as being responsible for. Howe-Boone thinks MacDonald-Brown's story tells another side of Africville's history. "A lot of the stories that people would hear coming out of Africville, 'They were destitute and they were poor and they didn't have anything,'" said Howe-Boone. "Well, they were a proud people and they had homes and they gardened and they kept their property up and it was taken from them and stripped from them. And so when I look at the land in Africville, that's the land of Edith Brown." Colosimo hopes that by drawing attention to MacDonald-Brown's work, people will continue researching her life, and perhaps some unknown works of art of hers will surface. Woods hopes the exhibit brings long-overdue recognition. "We have these gifts and we can only be grateful that we still have them, you know, 100 years later to celebrate and to perhaps bring some honour to her for her art that she did not receive during the time that she was creating the works," he said. The exhibit runs until April 26.
