The journey toward gender equality requires courage, determination and resilience. These words perfectly epitomize the subjects of Her Too: Contemporaries of Helen McNicoll, a new exhibition at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
Organized as a companion to Helen McNicoll: An Impressionist Journey, Her Too highlights the work of women artists who, like McNicoll, were at the forefront of Canadian art in the early 1900s. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we wanted to spotlight these remarkable individuals who pushed the envelope of what it meant for women to be artists at the time.
“I’m always interested in placing temporary exhibitions in conversation with our permanent collection whenever possible,” says Tobi Bruce, Head of Collections & Exhibitions / Chief Curator at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. “Presenting the McNicoll exhibition here was a great opportunity to highlight work by a generation of women artists who are really well represented in our holdings. It helps bring context and a broader understanding of why we show what we show and how the collection is, in part, the bedrock on which we build our exhibition program.”
Drawn entirely from the AGH’s permanent collection, the works selected for Her Too represent some of Canada’s most ambitious modern artists from the early part of the last century. Among the first generation of professionally-trained artists, they adopted modern styles of painting and brought new artistic approaches to Canada, including Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.
“There are so many artists that have yet to be fully explored, researched, and recognized,” says Bruce. “For generations, the work of many women artists has fallen from conversation, so we need to be vigilant in bringing them back into focus. Some of the artists included are fairly well known, while others are not. I like to build exhibitions that offer something familiar, but also feature new discoveries.”
Her Too includes works by Harriet Ford, Laura Muntz Lyall, Florence Carlyle, and Florence McGillivray. They represent the first wave of women artists to travel abroad for study and exhibition – paving the way for future generations.
Each of their journeys was as unique as their artistic practice. While all embraced international trends in their work, their paths differed significantly. Some returned to establish careers in Canada, others taught the next generation of artists, and some remained largely abroad.
Notably, many of the artists featured in Her Too have strong ties to Hamilton and the surrounding region – having been born, lived, or studied here. This includes Ottilie Palm Jost, Marion Mattice, Laura Muntz Lyall, Hortense Gordon, and Grace Coombs.
“It’s always great to introduce our audiences to artists they might not have heard about before, or show a new acquisition by a familiar artist. In the case of Her Too, it was particularly fulfilling that so many of the artists had ties to Hamilton, especially because the city has launched such an impressive range of artists nationally and internationally.”
Her Too: Contemporaries of Helen McNicoll runs at the Art Gallery of Hamilton until May 25, 2025.
