ABSTRACT
The Beaver Hall Group and its Place in
the Montreal Art Milieu and the Nationalist Network
Susan Avon
1994
The Montreal art milieu of 1920 was conservative
in nature and the Beaver Hall Group was formed, in part, in response to that local art
scene. Essentially an exhibiting society, its members sought freedom of expression.
The formation of the Group also coincided with a
period in Canadian history when Canada was casting off its colonial ties to England.
Consequently, a nationalist cultural agenda developed among members of the
English-Canadian intelligentsia. One of the goals of this network was to strike a national
note in Canadian art, an aspiration championed by the Toronto-based Group of Seven.
Through the intermediary of Group of Seven member A.Y. Jackson, the Beaver Hall Group was
affiliated with this movement. The Montreal Group, however, was short-lived (circa
1920-1922) and virtually disappeared from Canadian art historical texts until the late
1950s when it began to be presented as having consisted primarily of women artists.
Research reveals, however, that while there was a large contingency of female members,
history has largely ignored the male members who comprised the majority of the Group.
In this thesis, the 1920 Montreal art scene is
depicted and the Beaver Hall Group is placed within both local and national cultural
contexts. Also, the issue of the Group’s membership is discussed and a revised roster
of members is proposed.
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