F.H. VARLEY: Portraits Into the Light
December 8, 2007-Februrary 18, 2008
The exhibition F.H. VARLEY: Portraits Into the Light is an in-depth survey of the portrait paintings of Canadian artist, Frederick Varley. Known primarily for his affiliation with the Group of Seven, today F.H. Varley's reputation as a landscape painter has almost eclipsed his prolific career as a portraitist and over-shadows the radicalism of his approach to the human subject. F.H. VARLEY: Portraits Into the Light is a long overdue examination of Varley’s place in the history of portrait painting in Canada.
F.H. Varley had a profound understanding and interest in the human face. His portraits are distinguished by strong, sensitive lines, emotive colour and a keen and penetrating observation of the individual sitter. Striking in their psychological depth, Varley's portraits are compelling images of their subjects, but also seem to reveal much about the artist himself.
The exhibition, F.H. VARLEY: Portraits Into the Light, traces Varley’s career from his immigration to Canada in 1912 to his death in 1969. Over the course of his life, Varley travelled extensively, living in Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Edmonton. His journeys can be mapped around the images he created during those time periods. Each move signified a new circle of friends, a fresh look at life and new depictions of the people who became important to him.
F.H. VARLEY: Portraits Into the Light features over 70 of Varley’s best known works, as well as recently located paintings, that offer a view of some of the most compelling portraits ever painted in Canada. A dozen portraits painted by other members of the Group of Seven such as A.Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris; and by Varley’s friends and students Vera Weatherbie and Irene Hoffar-Reid, help present a more elaborate picture of the changing interest in portrait commissions in Canada from the 1920s to the early 1960s. The exhibition also includes a re-creation of the artist’s studio in Unionville and a selection of portraits of Frederick Varley himself created by Canadian artists such as Josuf Karsh, Irma Coucill, Florence Wyle and Francis Cage.
This exhibition was curated by Katerina Atanassova and organized and circulated by the Varley Art Gallery of Markham.
Exhibition Related Programming
This project has been made possible in part through a grant from the Museum Assistance Program, Department of Canadian Heritage.
Ce projet a été rendu possible en partie grâce à une subvention du Programme d’aide aux musées du ministère du Patrimoine canadien.