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ROWLEY, Frances Elswood (Richards)

Born
Brockville, Ontario, 1852
Died
Glassonby, Cumberland, England, 1934
Biography synopsis
Frances Rowley (nee Richards) painted landscapes and still lifes but was best-known for portrait paintings. She studied in New York, London, and from 1878-1881 in Paris at the Académie Julian where she knew the Russian artist Marie Bashkirtseff. Richards returned to Canada in 1881 and was made the Acting Head of the Ottawa School of Art; additionally, she became an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy. In addition to exhibiting with the Royal Canadian Academy, the Ontario Society of Artists and the Art Association of Montreal between 1882 and 1889, she showed her work at a Paris Salon (1883), the National Academy of Design in New York (1884), and the New Gallery in London (1893). In 1882 she met the English writer Oscar Wilde in Ottawa during his tour of Canada, and in 1887 when Richards moved to London, she painted his portrait. On seeing the painting Wilde stated: “What a tragic thing it is. This portrait will never grow older and I shall. If only it was the other way." It is suggested that this portrait is linked to his well-known novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray." In 1888 Richards took up residence in London when she married William Edwin Rowley; she returned to Canada regularly. Some of her works are held in Canadian public and museum collections, including the Art Gallery of Victoria. A portrait of Frances Richards is held at the National Gallery of Canada.
Media used
Painting
Education
Académie Julian, Paris, 1878 - 1881 (under Robert Fleury, Carolus Duran, Jacques Henner, Charles Chaplin)
Memberships
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, 1881
File & Archive locations
Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
St. James Gazette 24 Sep. 1890
"Dies In England: Mrs. W. E. Rowley Daughter of Former Lieut.-Governor.” The Gazette 27 Nov. 1934
Butlin, Susan. A New Matrix of the Arts: A History of the Professionalization of Canadian Women Artists, 1880-1914. Ottawa, Ontario: Carleton University, 2008
Disotell, Russ. "Frances Richards and Oscar Wilde." Thousand Islands Life 13 Apr. 2015
http://tilife.org/BackIssues/Archive/tabid/393/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1717/Frances-Richards-and-Oscar-Wilde.html
Ellmann, Richard. Oscar Wilde. New York: Knopf, 1988
Harper, J. Russell. Early Painters and Engravers in Canada Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1970
Latham, David. Scarlet Hunters: Pre-Raphaelitism in Canada. Toronto: Archives of Canadian Art & Design, 1998
McNeill, Steve and Charles C. Hill. Acquisition Proposal for Frances Richards’ Portrait, Accession #41268, Curatorial File, National Gallery of Canada. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, ?
http://www.gallery.ca/sites/default/files/upload/library/frances_richards_bio_e.pdf
Morgan, H. J., ed. Types of Canadian Women and of women who have been connected with Canada. Toronto: W. Briggs, 1903
O'Brien, Kevin. "Oscar Wilde and Canadian Artists." Antigonish Review 1.4 (Winter 1971): 11-28
Porter, Brian. "Local Artist inspired Oscar Wilde Novel." Ottawa Citizen 18 Oct 2014
Scharnhorst, Gary. “Oscar Wilde on the Origin of ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’: A Recovered Letter.” The Wildean, no. 37, 2010, pp. 12–15. 37 (2010): 12-15.

Full text pdfs of exhibition reviews
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Halifax, ) "Royal Canadian Academy. Preparations for Opening the Third Annual Exhibition."  Globe (Toronto)  .  p.2.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Halifax, ) "Royal Canadian Academy of Arts: Private view at the Art Gallery."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p. 5.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) "Art in Ontario. Tenth Annual Exhibition of the Ontario Society. The "Private View" Day. A Capital Display in Both Branches."  Globe (Toronto)  .  p. 8.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) "Canadian Art. The Exhibition of the Ontario Society of Artists. Studies in Oils and Watercolours."  Toronto Daily Mail  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, ) "The Royal Canadian Art Exhibition."  Montreal Herald  .  p.1.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, ) "Among the Pictures. The Annual Spring Exhibition of the R.C.A."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, ) "R.C.A. Formal Opening of the Art Exhibition."  Montreal Herald  .  p.4,8.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, ) "The Art Exhibition. Some Notices of the Pictures Displayed."  Montreal Daily Herald  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "The Art Exhibition. Some Notices of the Pictures Displayed."  Montreal Daily Herald  .  P.8.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, ) "The Royal Canadian Academy Exhibition."  The Week (Toronto)  .  p.355.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, ) "Royal Canadian Academy of Art. Two Free Days Before the Exhibition Closes."  Montreal Daily Herald  .  p.6.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) "Ontario Society of Artists. Brief Criticisms of Some of the More Notable Pictures on Exhibition."  Globe (Toronto)  .  p. 2.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) "The Ontario Society's Exhibit. II."  The Week  .  p.496.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Water Colors. The Annual Spring Exhibition."  Montreal Star  .  p.3.   Full-text pdf

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