Laura Adeline Muntz Lyall Sold at Auction Prices

Painter, Porträtmaler, Landscape painter

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    • LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., CHILDREN FEEDING THE RABBITS, oil on canvas, 48 ins x 36 ins; 121.9 cms x 91.4 cms
      May. 28, 2018

      LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., CHILDREN FEEDING THE RABBITS, oil on canvas, 48 ins x 36 ins; 121.9 cms x 91.4 cms

      Est: $20,000 - $30,000

      LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A.CHILDREN FEEDING THE RABBITSoil on canvassigned 48 ins x 36 ins; 121.9 cms x 91.4 cms Provenance:Private Collection, OakvilleLiterature:Joan Murray, Laura Muntz Lyall: Impressions of Women and Childhood, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal and Kingston, 2012, pages 22, 145, 150 and 154.In the summer of 1894 and 1898, Laura Muntz (1860-1930) visited rural Holland. She travelled there again in the late summer of 1899. It was a particularly happy time for her and her paintings seem to reflect this. In her 2012 biography of the artist, Joan Murray notes Lyall’s Dutch subjects “were striking and made good materials for painting, particularly for works to be exhibited in the Salon.” Murray further notes that there is something quite special about the compositions from this period that make the viewer feel part of an intimate moment. Indeed, the positioning of the young girl and young boy near the rabbit hutches leaves just enough space for the viewer to be incorporated into their experience. The almost life size scale of the work further enhances the sense of a virtual experience.While this painting is not titled, a work called Feeding The Rabbits was exhibited by Muntz in 1900 (as no. 154) at the Canadian National Exhibition. That work, or a work of the same title, was exhibited again in 1901 (no. 107).Muntz was active in various art societies of the day both abroad and in Canada, but she also built her reputation as a teacher while travelling overseas and again once she had settled back in Canada. She found teaching positions in some of Canada’s finest private girls schools including Branksome Hall (1901-1905) and Havergal Ladies College in Toronto and Miss Edgar’s & Miss Cramp’s in Montreal (1910-1914).Estimate: $20,000–30,000

      Waddington's
    • LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., PORTRAIT OF A CHILD, oil on canvas, 16 ins x 12 ins; 40.6 cms x 30.5 cms
      Nov. 21, 2016

      LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., PORTRAIT OF A CHILD, oil on canvas, 16 ins x 12 ins; 40.6 cms x 30.5 cms

      Est: $4,000 - $6,000

      LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A.PORTRAIT OF A CHILDoil on canvassigned and dated 1907 16 ins x 12 ins; 40.6 cms x 30.5 cms Provenance:Private Collection, OttawaLiterature:A.K. Prakash, Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women Artists, Firefly Books Ltd., Richmond Hill, 2008, page 52.Paul Duval, Canadian Impressionism, McCelland & Stewart Inc., Toronto, 1990, page 50.Note:Laura Muntz famously declared she only held passion for two subjects, “painting and children, I don’t know what I am fondest of.” Her great skill lay in the authenticity by which she effortlessly conveyed the innocence and beauty of childhood.  Estimate: $4,000–6,000

      Waddington's
    • LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., PORTRAIT OF A CHILD, oil on canvas, 16.25 ins x 14.25 ins; 76.2 cms x 101.6 cms
      Nov. 23, 2015

      LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., PORTRAIT OF A CHILD, oil on canvas, 16.25 ins x 14.25 ins; 76.2 cms x 101.6 cms

      Est: $6,000 - $8,000

      LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A.PORTRAIT OF A CHILDoil on canvassigned and dated 1907 16.25 ins x 14.25 ins; 76.2 cms x 101.6 cms Provenance:Private Collection, United KingdomLiterature:Joan Murray, Laura Muntz Lyall: Impressions of Women and Childhood, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal and Kingston, 2012, pages x, 3-5, 7, 9-10, 15-16, 28, 31-32, and 42.Note:Born in Warwickshire, England in 1860, Laura Adeline Muntz Lyall was enthralled by fairytales and the world of the imagination from a young age. Lyall trained with some of the leading artists at the time, both at home and abroad, becoming familiar with the pre-Raphaelites and Impressionists whilst in London and Paris, respectively. It is there that she further developed her skills in genre painting, naturalism and expressive brushstroke technique. Lyall chose to represent women and children in her artwork, as they were considered appropriate subject matter for female artists; however Lyall was also genuinely interested in the aesthetic representation of children and had a real kinship with her young subjects. At the turn of the century, psychologists, historians and thinkers were all questioning the role of the child both in the domestic sphere and within society at large as well; as such her paintings of children and interior life would have appealed to public sensibilities at the time. While her paintings portray a romanticized and idealized image of youth, she gives a sense of personality to her sitters through an individualized and intimate approach to her work. In Portrait of a Child from 1907, Lyall has isolated her subject against a dark background, a compositional style characteristic of her work. The young child is depicted as almost cherubic, gently illuminated and pictured in golden, rich tones, which work to emphasis the purity of youth. Staring intently at a subject off canvas, the child’s gaze engrosses the viewer and we are reminded of that childlike sense of wonder that is gradually lost as we age. By 1910, Lyall had moved on to symbolic and allegorical pictures of mother and child, or Madonna and Child, and this painting from 1907 can be seen as an early precursor of that thematic shift within her work. By 1907, photography was becoming a fully entrenched artistic medium, yet Lyall’s portraits of children played an integral role in preserving the tradition of painting in the face of technological advancement. Indeed, her images can be seen at the same time as an idealization of a simpler time and as a picture of hope for the future. Largely overshadowed by the nationalist connotations of the Group of Seven, her subtle yet distinct impressions of a generation of Canadian children makes Lyall’s contribution to art history integral to our understanding of life at the turn of the century.

      Waddington's
    • LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., UNTITLED - LULLABY, oil on canvas, 16 ins x 10.25 ins; 40.6 cms x 26 cms
      Nov. 24, 2014

      LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., UNTITLED - LULLABY, oil on canvas, 16 ins x 10.25 ins; 40.6 cms x 26 cms

      Est: $7,000 - $9,000

      LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ LYALL, O.S.A., A.R.C.A.UNTITLED - LULLABYoil on canvassigned 16 ins x 10.25 ins; 40.6 cms x 26 cms Provenance:Matthews Art Gallery, TorontoLiterature:Joan Murray, "Laura Muntz Lyall: Impressions of Women and Childhood", McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal & Kingston, 2012, page 32, colour plate 64 for a similar portrait entitled The Lullaby, 1915, and colour plate 69 for a similar portrait entitled Lullaby, 1924.Note:Of Laura Muntz's portraiture Joan Murray wrote: "She always presented the subject in a flattering yet honest way and with an effect of refined vivacity, most often highlighting the face and body against a dark, broadly painted neutral background and adding a few notes of colour, usually to the sitter's eyes and lips, and sometimes to the costume."In Untitled - Lullaby, a cool indigo costume frames the warm embrace shared by a mother and her little girl. Their tenderness is palpable. They sit together out-of-doors, barefoot, as if characters in a whimsical fairytale. The mother's expression is wistful, as she drapes her arms lovingly around the slumbering girl.

      Waddington's
    • LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., PORTRAIT OF A GIRL, watercolour, oval 11.75 ins x 9.5 ins; 29.4 cms x 23.8 cms
      Jun. 03, 2013

      LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., PORTRAIT OF A GIRL, watercolour, oval 11.75 ins x 9.5 ins; 29.4 cms x 23.8 cms

      Est: $4,000 - $6,000

      LAURA ADELINE MUNTZ, O.S.A., A.R.C.A.PORTRAIT OF A GIRL, watercolour; signed oval 11.75 ins x 9.5 ins; 29.4 cms x 23.8 cms Provenance: Peter Ohler Fine Arts, Vancouver.Private Collection, Calgary.Literature: Joan Murray, "Laura Muntz Lyall: impressions of women and childhood", Montreal, 2012, page 85, colour plate 28 for a similar portrait entitled The Little Red Head, 1903.

      Waddington's
    • Laura Adelaine Lyall Muntz 1860 - 1930 Canadian watercolour on paper on board Portrait of a Young Girl
      Feb. 23, 2012

      Laura Adelaine Lyall Muntz 1860 - 1930 Canadian watercolour on paper on board Portrait of a Young Girl

      Est: $3,000 - $5,000

      Laura Adelaine Lyall Muntz 1860 - 1930 Canadian watercolour on paper on board Portrait of a Young Girl 11 5/8 x 9 1/8 inches 29.5 x 23.2 centimeters signed and dated 1902 Provenance: Private Collection, Montreal

      Heffel
    • Laura Adelaine Muntz Lyall OSA, ARCA (Canadian, 1860-1930) A Young Girl Holding Daffodils
      Nov. 29, 2011

      Laura Adelaine Muntz Lyall OSA, ARCA (Canadian, 1860-1930) A Young Girl Holding Daffodils

      Est: $20,000 - $30,000

      A Young Girl Holding Daffodils signed 'Laura Muntz'(upper right) oil on canvas 72.4 x 54cm (28 1/2 x 21 1/4in).

      Bonhams
    • Laura Adelaine Lyall Muntz 1860 - 1930 Canadian
      May. 26, 2010

      Laura Adelaine Lyall Muntz 1860 - 1930 Canadian

      Est: $25,000 - $35,000

      Laura Adelaine Lyall Muntz 1860 - 1930 Canadian oil on canvas Reflections of Beauty 35 x 27 1/2 inches 88.9 x 69.8 centimeters on verso titled and inscribed ""by Laura Muntz OSA"" Literature:Letter from Elizabeth Muntz to Marie Douglas, April 9, 1964, Private Collection Provenance:Private Collection, Toronto The title of Laura Muntz's painting, Reflections of Beauty, has an elegiac ring to it, signaling that Muntz was sorting through memories as she created the work. The model, if we can apply the term to the young woman holding the mirror, was her niece, Elizabeth Muntz (1894 - 1977), later a sculptor in England. Elizabeth was one of Laura's favourite subjects, and she used her features often in her work, depicting Elizabeth in various poses (many imagined) and changing the position of her body, hair style, hair colour and garments to her liking. As Elizabeth wrote later to a friend, she posed "after a fashion". She wrote, "I say 'after a fashion' because so often she [Laura Muntz] would show me a picture and say, 'You didn't know I was painting you that day? I painted you in my head and put it out of my head onto the canvas after you had gone.'" In the course of making the painting, Muntz provided the viewer with a fascinating example of her appetite for contemporary developments. She had long been an admirer of Mary Cassatt, and in her own work had drawn on some of Cassatt's ideas of portraying children and women. In 1909, Cassatt had painted Woman at Her Toilette, a depiction of a seated young woman looking in a hand mirror, a popular subject of the day. Elsewhere, Cassatt had depicted women in close proximity to each other, as in A Corner of the Loge, 1879. Possibly, in Reflections of Beauty, Muntz was making an interesting point about the mutability of beauty - and relying on an audience who would have known and appreciated Cassatt's work. Muntz had a tendency to cherry-pick information while painting. While she drew upon her knowledge of her beautiful young niece for the face and body of the young woman looking in the mirror, she failed to finish some parts of the rest of the picture. For example, she lightly skimmed over the hand holding the fan and the figure in the background. At the same time she seriously venerated beauty, and loved to depict young women in gorgeous attire, from their hats to their dresses. The subject heralded quite a new world for her, one in which she would attempt different subjects and paint them with the same force that her work exhibited over the decade and a half she had been painting. These works sometimes transcended what had always been her mainstay - her juvenile genre - partly through their assertion of the power and interest of grown-up women, partly through their rich, muted colours and dense, painterly handling. Through the strength of subjects such as these, Muntz's paintings withstood the competition within her milieu and added to the respect in which she was held - hence, her inclusion in The Art Gallery of Toronto's 1926 Exhibition of Canadian Paintings along with works by Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, J.E.H. MacDonald and Tom Thomson, among others. We thank Joan Murray for contributing the above essay.

      Heffel
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