Anne Savage (1896–1971),Temlaham, Upper Skeena River, 1927, © Estate of Anne D. Savage
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Uninvited

Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment

Exhibition
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Overview

Organized by The McMichael Canadian Art Collection with the exceptional support of the National Gallery of Canada

Curated by Sarah Milroy

See more than 200 works of art by a generation of extraordinary women painters, photographers, sculptors, architects, and filmmakers from a century ago — pioneers who opened new frontiers for women artists in Canada – as well as works made by their Indigenous female contemporaries working in traditional media, for a cross-country snapshot of female creativity in this dynamic modern moment.

Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment is a major exhibition of Canadian women artists that was created to coincide with, and offer commentary on, the centenary celebration of the Group of Seven. 

For the first time, the art of the famed Beaver Hall Group of painters from Montréal (among them Anne Savage and Lilias Torrance Newton) will be shown alongside the paintings of Emily Carr from British Columbia, and sculptures by Toronto artists Elizabeth Wyn Wood, Frances Loring, and Florence Wyle.

The exhibition also includes the contributions of women from immigrant communities in this period, such as the painters Regina Seiden and Paraskeva Clark, as well as the work of Canadian expatriates like the avant-garde photographer Margaret Watkins, who left her home in Hamilton for the US and Scotland. The work of Indigenous women in this period is also featured prominently, including Attatsiaq from Arviat, Nunavut, Elizabeth Katt Petrant from Bear Island, Temagami, and Mrs Walking Sun from the Carry the Kettle Reserve in Southern Saskatchewan.

Learn more about the exhibition

Media Coverage

The Globe and Mail: At the McMichael’s new exhibition Uninvited, Canada’s neglected female artists earn long-overdue exposure

National Post: ‘A woman in a city’: What the Group of Seven lost in the northern woods

Galleries West: Uninvited

Chatelaine: Go See 200 Gorgeous Works Of Art That Aren’t By The Group Of Seven

A landscape painted in bold colours. In the foreground a river winds through a pink and chartreuse green landscape with green and blue mountains in the distance.
Anne Savage (1896–1971),Temlaham, Upper Skeena River, 1927, © Estate of Anne D. Savage
A beaded panel from an Inuit woman's parka, called a Tuilik. The beading pattern centers on concentric ovals with each ring a different colour of beads, including vibrant orange, blue, white, red and black
Attatsiaq(1910–c. 1955) Tuilik (woman’s parka) panel, 1926–37, Manitoba Museum, Winnipeg, Collection of Winifred Petchey Marsh and Bishop Donald Marsh, Photo: Craig Boyko
A self portrait of the artist surrounded by three women who are believed to be her sisters. They are sitting on a colourful patterned rug in a room that could be the artist’s studio. The artist sits in front of a blank canvas on an easel, she is wearing a trench coat or artist's smock. She looks directly at the viewer. The other three women are wearing colourful, more formal dresses and each one is looking in a different direction.
Suzanne Duquet (1916–2000), Group, 1941, Collection of the Musée national des beaux arts du Québec, © Estate of the artist, Photo: MNBAQ, Jean-Guy Kerouac
Cradleboard and moss bag with a varnished wood frame. The fabric of the moss bag where the baby is held is a deep purple-blue, decorated with a beaded pattern of light blue, purple and green flowers and blossoms. Other materials are wood, cotton cloth, glass beads, metal
Elizabeth Katt Petrant (1891?–1922), Cradleboard and moss bag, 1919–1938, Royal Ontario Museum Collection, Toronto Gift of Madeline Katt Theriault, With permission of the Royal Ontario Museum © ROM
Two young girls sit on pink chairs, possibly on a patio, as the leaves of a plant or tree overhang them. The older girl sits facing left and looks directly at the viewer with a serious gaze. The younger girl sits in front and faces right, looking into the middle distance. They both wear blue pinafores with white collars.
Prudence Heward (1896–1947), Sisters of Rural Quebec, 1930, Art Gallery of Windsor, Gift of the Willistead Art Gallery of Windsor Women’s Committee, 1962
An oil painting on paper. The perspective of the painting puts the viewer close to the base of a very tall tree, looking up at the trunk. Bare branches and green foliage spiral around the trunk, rendered with rough brushstrokes that create a sense of movement.
Emily Carr (1871–1945), Tree (spiralling upward), 1932–33, Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Emily Carr Trust Photo: Rachel Topham
A young woman with brown skin looks directly at the viewer. She is depicted from the torso up. She has shoulder-length black hair. She is wearing a white sleeveless top and her arms are crossed. There is a turquoise ring on her left ring finger. Behind her is a tall plant with a yellow stalk and large green leaves. There is a lake and mountains in the distance, the sky is full of rolling clouds.
Yvonne McKague Housser (1898–1996), Marguerite Pilot of Deep River (Girl with Mulleins), c. 1936–40, Collection of McMichael Canadian Art Collection © Estate of Yvonne McKague Housser

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