Mabel May
| H. Mabel May | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 11, 1877 Montreal, Quebec |
| Died | October 8, 1971 (aged 94) Burnaby, British Columbia |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Education | Art Association of Montreal |
| Movement | Beaver Hall Group, Group of Canadian Painters |
Henrietta Mabel May (September 11, 1877 – October 8, 1971), was a Canadian artist in the early 20th century and an organizer of women artists. Based in Quebec early in her career, and later in her life, Vancouver, she was a well-known painter and member of multiple important Canadian artist groups, including the Art Association of Montreal, the Beaver Hall Group and the Canadian Group of Painters. Her works have been displayed at the Canadian War Memorial, National Gallery, the Vancouver Art Gallery and many smaller galleries throughout Quebec. She has been commonly referred to as the “Emily Carr of Montreal” due to her interest in landscape and nature focused artwork. Her artwork was mostly influenced by her avid interest in French Impressionists.
May was born to parents Evelyn Henriette Walker and Edward May. Her date of birth is often incorrectly seen to be 1884, but she was in fact born on September 11, 1877. Her father, Edward May was a self-made man and became the mayor of Verdun, a borough on the outskirts of Montreal. He later became a successful real estate developer and moved her and the rest of her family to a more prosperous neighbourhood in Montreal called Westmount.
Though May displayed an active interest in art throughout her early years, she did not pursue formal education until she was in her mid-twenties. She delayed her education in order to help take care of her nine younger brothers and sisters while her parents worked trying to provide for them. In 1902 she became one of the first female students enrolled in the Art Association of Montreal (1909 – 1912) under teachers Alberta Cleland and William Brymner. There she was awarded scholarships twice. During this time, she exhibited small watercolours as part of the 1910 Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition. Cleland was a female artist from Montreal that worked with a broad range of subjects and tools. Brymner was an important influence on May’s style of art, and taught her from 1909 until the end of her studies in 1912. May was influenced by Brymner’s teachings of French modernism, including Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, and his encouragement for students to find their own individual style. These influences took her to France, England and Holland alongside artist and peer Emily Coonan after her graduation in 1912. There she traveled, visited galleries, studied and painted until her return to Quebec in 1916. During her travels she studied with James Wilson Morrice, who strongly influenced her style of painting. In 1916 she would move back in with her family, there she would practice her painting technique in a small cottage while her career began to take off.
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