Florence Emily Carlyle (September 24, 1864 – May 2, 1923) was a Canadian figure and portrait painter, known especially for her handling of light and fabric.[1] Her work is included in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.[2]

Florence Carlyle
Florence Carlyle, c. 1890.
Born1864 (1864)
DiedMay 2, 1923(1923-05-02) (aged 58–59)
Crowborough, England
Known forPainter
PartnerJuliet Hastings

Childhood

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Florence Carlyle was born September 24, 1864, in Galt, Canada West,[3] to Emily Youmans Carlyle and William Carlyle.[4] The second eldest of seven children, Florence was known throughout her life as "Bird" by family and friends.[5] In 1871 the Carlyle family moved to Woodstock, Ontario, where her father, William Carlyle, worked as the county inspector of schools for Oxford County.[6][7] While living in Woodstock, Emily created an art studio for local children who were interested in developing their artistic skills under the guidance of hired artists.[8] Sensing her daughter's artistic talent, Emily arranged for Florence to have private drawing and painting lessons with William Lees Judson.[8] William's uncle (and Florence's great-uncle) was the Scottish historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle;[9] and William was said by a contemporary writer to have inherited "much of the cleverness and the abstraction" of his celebrated forebear.[10]

Early adulthood

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In 1883 Florence and her younger sister, Lilian, exhibited several of their works at the Ladies' Department of the Toronto Industrial Exhibition.[11] It was this exhibition that gave Florence widespread recognition as Princess Louise and her husband, the Marquis of Lorne purchased one of her paintings of white lilies on china.[12] This event was heavily covered by The Globe, Daily Mail, and Woodstock's paper at the time.[13]

Education while in Paris

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The Tiff (around 1902), oil on canvas, from the Art Gallery of Ontario collection.[14]

After realizing that she needed to go abroad to further develop her artistic skill, 26-year-old Carlyle moved to Paris, France November 3, 1890.[15] Carlyle journeyed to Paris with her artistic mentor, Paul Peel, his sister Margaret Peel, and their father John Peel. However, once in Paris she rented a flat on her own.[15] Upon first arriving in Paris, Carlyle found it difficult to find an artistic academy that admitted women and furthermore, did not segregate men and women in classes.[16] At first Carlyle attended the Académie Julian, but after a disagreement with Adolphe-William Bouguereau, she switched to the less prestigious Académie Delécluse.[17] By 1892 Carlyle would return to Académie Julian to finish her studies.[17] In 1893 she exhibited her painting Une Dame Hollandaise at the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français, where it "received favourable attention.[18] Carlyle returned to Woodstock, where her family still resided in 1896.[19]

Later years

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She had studios in London and Woodstock, and in 1897 became the first woman to be elected an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy. In 1899, she established a studio in New York City.[20] In 1904, her oil painting The Tiff was selected to appear in the Canadian exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, where it won a silver medal.[21][22] The Montreal Gazette described this painting (now in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario)[14] as "a strong piece of work depicting a lover's quarrel", and praised its execution as "clear cut and decisive."[23]

The last twenty years of her life were spent in Crowborough, Sussex, England, where she and her partner, Juliet Hastings, bought an English cottage they called "Sweet Haws".[24]

Carlyle died at Crowborough in the spring of 1923. Most of her work is in the collection of the Woodstock Art Gallery in Woodstock, Ontario (55 works).[25]

Record sale prices

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At the Cowley Abbott Auction, Important Canadian Art (Sale 2), December 1, 2022, lot #112, The Studio (purchased by the Art Gallery of Ontario), oil on canvas, 35.25 x 21.5 ins (89.5 x 54.6 cms), Auction Estimate: $25,000.00 - $30,000.00, realized a price of $102,000.00.[26]

Publications

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  • Florence Caryle, "Student Life in Paris". Sentinel-Review (Woodstock), 10 February 1936.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Murray 2004, p. 11.
  2. ^ "Florence Carlyle".
  3. ^ McGirr, Katelyn. "Florence Carlyle An Artist Biography". RiverBrink Art Museum Blog. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  4. ^ Butlin 2009, p. 9=11.
  5. ^ Murray 2004, p. 17.
  6. ^ Murray 2004, p. 20.
  7. ^ Butlin 2009, p. 11.
  8. ^ a b Butlin 2009, p. 13.
  9. ^ Campbell, Claire (Spring 2010). "Review of The Practice of Her Profession: Florence Carlyle, Canadian Painter in the Age of Impressionism" (PDF). Journal of Historical Biography. 7: 182–185. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  10. ^ Murray 2004, p. 19.
  11. ^ Butlin 2009, p. 22.
  12. ^ Butlin 2009, p. 2003.
  13. ^ Butlin 2009, p. 23.
  14. ^ a b "Florence Carlyle's The Tiff". AGO Art Gallery of Ontario. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  15. ^ a b Butlin 2009, p. 36.
  16. ^ Butlin 2009, p. 42.
  17. ^ a b Butlin 2009, p. 43.
  18. ^ Butlin 2009, p. 54-56.
  19. ^ Butlin 2009, p. 69.
  20. ^ Farr, Dorothy; Luckyj, Natalie (1975). From Women's Eyes: Women Painters in Canada. Kingston: Agnes Etherington Art Centre. p. 26.
  21. ^ Murray 2004, p. 10.
  22. ^ Butlin 2009, p. 85.
  23. ^ "Art exhibition: Annual display of Royal Canadian Academy opens at the art gallery". The Gazette. 18 March 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  24. ^ Murray 2004, p. 33.
  25. ^ "Florence Carlyle". woodstockartgallery.pastperfectonline.com. Woodstock Art Gallery. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Important Canadian Art (Sale 2)". cowleyabbott.ca. Cowley Abbott. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  27. ^ Murray 2004, p. 65ff.

Further reading

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