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JOHNSTON, Frances Anne
- Born
- Toronto, Ontario, 1910
- Died
- Toronto, Ontario, 1987
- Biography synopsis
- Frances Anne Johnston, daughter of Group of Seven artist Franz Johnston, attended the Ontario College of Art where she won two scholarships. In 1932 she exhibited at the Royal Canadian Academy annual exhibition in Toronto, at the same time her father's work was shown. Initially landscapes were the focus of her paintings but Johnston abandoned this subject for flower paintings, still life, and interior spaces beginning in 1937 when she had children with her artist husband George Arbuckle. For many years she was known for her Christmas cards and much later did a series of Canadian wild flower studies for Toronto's Murray's Restaurants menus. From 1941-1958 she lived in Montreal as her husband worked there. They returned to Toronto in the 1960s. Johnston exhibited at the Roberts Gallery (Toronto) and also participated in all-women's exhibitions. Her work was included at the Ontario Society of Artists' 100 year anniversary exhibition in 1972. In 2022 the Ottawa Art Gallery held a retrospective solo exhibition of her flower and interior scenes. Her paintings are held at the National Gallery of Canada and in numerous corporate collections.
- Media used
- Painting
- Education
- Ontario College of Art & Design (formerly Ontario School of Art)
- Memberships
- Ontario Society of Artists
- Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
- File & Archive locations
- Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
- Hamilton Public Library, ON - Local History and Archives Department
- London Public Library, ON
- 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
- University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
- University of Calgary Library, AB
- Vancouver Art Gallery, BC - Library
- Winnipeg Art Gallery, MA - Clara Lander Library
- Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- "Frances-Anne Johnston: Canadian Artist praised tor Paintings of Fowers." The Globe and Mail 28 July 1987: C8
- "Gallery XII shows Varied Painting." The Gazette (Montreal) 11Feb. 1956
- "Three Women Artists occupy Gallery XII." The Gazette (Montreal) 20 Dec 1952: 20.
- Basciano Rebecca et al. Frances-Anne Johnston: Art and Life/Art Et Vie. Ottawa, Ontarioa: Ottawa Art Gallery/Galerie D'art D'Ottawa., 2022.
- Basciano, Rebecca. "Frances-Anne Johnston: A Family Palette." Canadian Women Artists Historical Initiative Modernisms, Inside & Out: The Fourth Conference of the Canadian Women Artists History Initiative, 30 September - 2 October 2021, Toronto. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario & McMichael Collection, 30 Sep - 2 Oct 2021
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dwR7Xtbwhk - Cherry, Zena. "44 Artists to be Shown in 100-Year Retrospective." Globe and Mail 29 Aug. 1972: 11
- Cherry, Zena. "After a Fashion: Rose Paintings by 5 Toronto Artists commissioned for Expo Exhibit." The Globe and Mail 16 Mar. 1967: W8
- Gessell, Paul. "Frances-Anne Johnston: One of Canada’s Best Still-life Painters is reclaimed from Patriarchal Obscurity." Galleries West November 28, 2022
http://www.gallerieswest.ca/magazine/stories/frances-anne-johnston/ - Hammond, M. O.. "Art and Artists." The Globe (Toronto) 05 Nov. 1932:14
- Holubizky Ihor et al. 1953. Oshawa, Ontario: Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2003
- MacDonald, Colin S. The Dictionary of Canadian Artists. (Volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker) Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2009
- Woods, Kathryn Reid. Franz Johnston Frances-Anne Johnston Paul Rodrik. Oshawa, On.: Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 1972.
Full text pdfs of exhibition reviews- Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, March 1932) Hector Charlesworth. "O.S.A's Sixtieth Show." Toronto Saturday Night March 19, 1932. p.10. Full-text pdf
- Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, November 1932) "New Names on Roster of Artists Whose Work Academy Has Accepted. Fifty-third Annual Exhibition Royal Canadian Academy Opened- Two Hundred Canvases." Evening Telegram (Toronto) November 05, 1932. p.14. Full-text pdf
- Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (, 1936) Fred H. Brigden. "The Fifty-Seventh Annual Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts." Royal Architectural Institute of Canada December 1936. 13.12: pp.216-223. Full-text pdf
