Lot 167: Nora Frances Elizabeth Collyer 1898 - 1979

Nora Frances Elizabeth Collyer 1898 - 1979 Canadian oil on board St-Fidèle, PQ " 16 x 18 inches 40.6 x 45.7 centimeters signed and on verso signed, titled and dated August 1936 Provenance:Private Collection, Quebec Nora Collyer's family was part of Montreal's English Protestant elite and she was a founding member of the Beaver Hall Group in Montreal in 1920, which included both men and women. However, it was the women members who are best remembered, and this group provided an impetus to the careers of some of the finest women painters in Canada. After they left their studio building at Beaver Hall Hill in 1924, a group of women members, including Collyer, formed a network. They consulted each other about their work, traveled and painted together and still exhibited under the Beaver Hall name. In a time when being a female artist could be a disadvantage, this support was invaluable. Collyer often painted in the Quebec countryside, as her family cottage was at Foster and from 1950 to 1967 she spent summers painting at a cottage she built nearby overlooking Lake Memphremagog. Collyer was known for her Eastern Township landscapes and Quebec village scenes such as this richly coloured work, a strong layered composition packed with interesting elements such as the village church, flooded with bright, clear light.