Arthur Lismer: Visionary art educator

McGill Journal of Education, Winter 2003 by Spicanovic, Vladimir

ANGELA NAIRNE GRIGOR. Arthur Lismer: Visionary art educator. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press (2002). 447 pp. C$65.00. (ISBN 0-7735-2295-6).

While teaching a course in Canadian art history last winter, I had a chance to revisit the legacy of the Group of Seven. Alongside their majestic painterly investigations of untamed Canadian wilderness driven by patriotic aspirations, many members of this group were also known as teachers of art. Written by Angela Nairne Grigor, this book examines the life and educational work of Arthur Lismer (1885-1969), an artist-teacher whose vision and social responsibility influenced many generations of artists and educators in this country. It presents to us not only a comprehensive analysis of Lismer's life and ideas embedded in his work of a museum educator, but also some important insights into the development of Canadian modern art education.

Grigor developed an interest in Lismer while pursuing her graduate work in art education. Interestingly enough, while researching the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, she discovered that one of her teachers in Britain, Marjorie Tozer Leefe, who encouraged her to become an art educator, was one of the most promising students of Lismer at the Victoria School of Art and Design in Halifax. Grigor's analysis draws not only upon Lismer's unpublished papers and notes secured in the archives of Quebec, Nova Scotia and Ontario (the provinces in which he lived and worked after his arrival in Canada from Sheffield, England in 1911), but also upon interviews of his colleagues, friends and former students. In spite of the vast volume of data that span over the fifty-year period and that must have been a great challenge to organize chronologically, Grigor states that, ". . . the energy inherent in Lismer's written material made his work constantly fresh and interesting" (p. xiii).

The book is divided into two major sections, each consisting of seven chapters, each including also some exceptionally charming photographs and reproductions of Lismer' drawings. I particularly enjoyed the delicacy of his pen and ink sketches of South African native costumes and Basutoland villages (p. 138-139). The first part of the book, Life in Art, focuses on Lismer's life (his upbringing and education) uncovering also various challenges that he encountered as an artist and educator in Canada. Moreover, it is in this part of the book that one begins to realize Lismer's struggle to balance his dedication to painting with his commitment to the teaching of art. In 1915, while living in Toronto, Lismer was offered a teaching job at the Ontario Department of Education Teachers Summer Courses in Art. While living in Toronto from 1911 to 1916, he became also associated with the Graphic Arts Club, and Arts and Letters Club. These activities helped him establish his voice as an art educator as well.

According to Grigor, Lismer saw teaching also as a possibility that would allow him to carry on with his painting. Further, "he idealized art and artists, seeing them as sensitive to physical as well as spiritual experience, and had a strong desire to pass on something of his vision to others" (p. 31). Georgian Bay was Lismer' favorite spot for painting - a magical country for a painter. Some of this magic was etherealized in his paintings Georgian Bay (1913), Pine Wreckage (1929) and Sunlight in a Wood (1930), which Grigor does not forget to mention. Moreover, Grigor states that it was a painting trip to Algonquin Park in March 1914, with legendary artist Tom Thomson, that greatly influenced Lismer as a painter, and reaffirmed his fascination with nature and spirituality.

Grigor speculates why, with very little experience as an artist and administrator, Lismer was chosen to be head of the Victoria School of Art in Halifax, the position that he occupied from 1916-1919. Something has to be said about Lismer's luck, when on December 6, 1917, he missed the morning train from Bedford to Halifax, avoiding the catastrophic explosion in the Halifax harbour, which obliterated the city and left over 1500 dead. In 1919 Lismer moved back to Toronto, taking on the position of Vice-principal at the Ontario College of Art. This was, according to Grigor, one of the busiest times of his career. Alongside his administrative duties, Lismer had a full teaching schedule. "He was in charge of elementary course work, the junior class for school-age children, and the Department of Education Teachers Summer Courses in Art, of which he became principal in 1920" (p. 68). Grigor's descriptions of Lismer's appearance and his enigmatic personality are simply delightful to read. He was not only a tall, slim and somewhat bohemian looking Yorkshire man as I imagined, but also a charismatic lecturer whose wittiness was capable of energizing many audiences across the world. "But inwardly he was an intensely private person who never discussed personal or family affairs and avoided talking about his painting" (p. 348). It is interesting that Grigor often compared Lismer to a slower paced and more traditional George Reid who was a principal of the Ontario College of Art at the time. Although Reid was initially very fond of Lismer and might had helped him to get positions in Toronto and Halifax, there were many conflicts between Lismer and Reid. These led ultimately in Lismer's resignation from his position at OCA in 1927. This controversy was followed by the petition which included signatures of 135 of his students. Lismer's sensitivity and dedication to students are well remembered. Grigor writes that while presiding at the Student Club, established in 1922, Lismer organized Friday night suppers that brought day and evening students together, promoting the sense of an artistic community at OCA. He was also one of the instigators of a masquerade ball. "For him, the balls, were an extension of his theatrical interests, and in keeping with his imaginative, playful personality, he enjoyed assuming disguises and wearing costumes" (p. 70).