Above – Morrice Morrice Morrice Construction Hoarding.
Note all images can be viewed at a larger scale by clicking or double clicking on them. In the case of JWM, blowing up an image is generally less about getting information on the subject matter, than it is about looking at painterly qualities.
James Wilson Morrice b. 1865, Montreal, d. 1924 Tunis
A modestly scaled feature exhibition of Morrice’s work at the National Gallery continues to March 2018. As part of its permanent collection, the institution also includes a room of Morrice paintings in the Canadian galleries. The cropped snapshots of work shown here come from both the temporary and permanent exhibits. These small paintings, many of them bright and light driven, many of them landscapes, many of them exotic, are of interest. Morrice as a colourist is sophisticated, and the pictures, as a friend pointed out, have an architectural quality – both in terms of their subject matter, as well as the painter’s frequent use of flat orthogonal compositions. Much of his inspiration came from overseas travel with destinations in France, Italy, North Africa and the Caribbean. In fact, his adult life was essentially Paris based, but did include annual visits home to Quebec. In terms of art history, J. W. Morrice is considered a Post-Impressionist.
The works on display at the National Gallery have made available through a gift by A. K. Prakash.
Detail from Tanger, paysage, 1912
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