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FORD, Harriet Mary

Born
Brockville, Ontario, 1859
Died
Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, 1938
Biography synopsis
Harriet Mary Ford studied at the Central Ontario School of Art, Toronto,1881; in London at St John’s Wood Art School and the Royal Academy; in France at the Académie Colarossi; and in the studio of Luc Olivier Mercon and Joseph Blanc. She traveled widely in Europe, to Italy (c.1892), Spain (1907) and Venice (1913-14). She lived in England beginning in 1896. Ford lived in Toronto 1894-1896, 1911-1917 and 1920-1921. She lived in Newlyn, Cornwall 1896-1899, Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, 1899-c.1911 and 1918-1920 and from 1922 until her death. Between 1846 and 1916, Ford exhibited with the Royal Canadian Academy, and elsewhere in Canada. She was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy (Associate; 1895-99); the Palette Club (c.1894-99, 1911); the Ontario Society of Artists (1895-99 and again 1911); the Society of Mural Decorators (founding member); and the Women’s International Art Club, London. She returned to Toronto in 1920 and opened a studio on Huron Street. See correspondence between Ford and James Mavor in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto. Ford showed her work at the Paris Salon, The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts and the Royal Society of British Artists, London, the Art Association of Montreal, the Royal Canadian Academy, the Toronto Industrial Exhibition and the Palette Club. Her work is owned by the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Ford was known as a painter, muralist, and jeweler and also as a writer, critic and lecturer. With George Reid she edited the short-lived magazine "Tarot," (1896) devoted to the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Media used
Jewellery making
Mural painting and decoration
Painting
Education
Ontario College of Art & Design (formerly Ontario School of Art), 1881 - ?
Académie Colarossi, Paris
Private study (under Luc Olivier Merson; Joseph Blanc)
Royal Academy, London
Memberships
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Associate; 1895
Palette Club, 1894
Ontario Society of Artists, 1895-9; and again 1911
Society of Mural Decorators, Founding member, 1894
Women's International Art Club
File & Archive locations
Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
Hamilton Public Library, ON - Local History and Archives Department
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
"Among Many Canadians..." Globe (Toronto) 11 Jun. 1902: 5
"Among the Paintings." Daily Witness (Montreal) 14 Mar. 1896: 10
"Art & Artists" Globe (Toronto) 15 Dec. 1920: 10
"Art and Artists." Globe (Toronto) 25 Nov. 1916: 10
"Art Notes." Saturday Night 8 (6 Apr. 1895)
"Art Notes." Saturday Night 8 (13 Apr. 1895)
"Art Notes." Saturday Night 8.32 (29 Jun. 1895): 9
"Art Notes." Saturday Night 8.18 (23 Mar. 1895): 9
"Art Notes." Saturday Night 9.17 (14 Mar. 1896): 9
"Art." Saturday Night 9.50 (31 Oct. 1896): 9
"Canadian Magazine." Globe (Toronto) 5 Jun. 1896: 12
"Canadian Section of Fine Arts." British Empire Exhibition London: British Empire Exhibition, 1924
"Current and Forthcoming Exhibitions." Burlington Magazine 16 (1974): 425
"Current News of the Fine Arts." New York Times 25 Apr. 1894: 4
"Exhibition of Applied Arts." Globe (Toronto) 21 Dec. 1903: 9
"For Women To-Day." Globe (Toronto) 11 Mar. 1914: 5
"In Town." Globe (Toronto) 4 Apr. 1896: 19
"It is a Pity that so Many Fail to Take Advantage of the Opportunity." Toronto Daily Star 27 Jan. 1912
"London, Ont., Artist Wins Scholarship." Globe (Toronto) 21 Nov. 1916: 5
"Miss Harriet Ford..." Globe (Toronto) 11 Sept. 1897: 23
"Miss Harriet Ford..." Saturday Night 9.18 (21 Mar. 1896): 9
"Miss Harriet Ford..." Toronto Star 30 Oct. 1920
"Mrs. Alexander Cameron..." Saturday Night 8.19 (30 Mar. 1895): 9
"Oil Paintings." Globe (Toronto) 1 May 1895: 5
"Paintings Shown At Heliconian Club." Globe (Toronto) 8 Nov. 1920: 11
"Social Events." Globe (Toronto) 29 Dec. 1920: 7
"Social Events: Tea was dispensed..." Globe (Toronto) 7 Mar. 1921: 8
"Studio Day." Globe (Toronto) 31 Jan. 1896: 8
"The Horse Show." Globe (Toronto) 23 Mar. 1896: 5
"The Palette Club Exhibition." Saturday Night 8.2 (1 Dec. 1897): 7
"The Portrait of the Late..." Saturday Night 8.48 (19 Oct. 1895): 9
"Three Art Lectures." Globe (Toronto) 18 Mar. 1895: 8
"To-day's Calendar." Globe (Toronto) 7 Mar. 1896: 20
"Venetian Painters." Globe (Toronto) 3 Apr. 1895: 8
"Woman At Work and At Play: Social Events." Globe (Toronto) 21 Dec. 1911
"XIII Perpertual Motion." Apollo 112 (Nov. 1980): 325
"Year's Harvest of Art." Globe (Toronto) 7 Mar. 1903: 32
Anderson, Janice. Creating Room: Canadian Women Mural Painters and Rereadings of the Public and the Private. Montreal: Concordia University, 2002
Art Gallery of Hamilton. Harriet Ford, Art Gallery of Hamilton, January 18 - April 1, 2001. Hamilton: Art Gallery of Hamilton, 2001
Art Gallery of the Toronto Public Reference Library. Catalogue of the 2nd Annual Exhibition of Little Pictures by Canadian Artists. Toronto: Art Gallery of the Toronto Public Reference Library, 1914
Bradfield, Helen Pepall. Art Gallery of Ontario: The Canadian Collection. Toronto: McGraw-Hill, 1970
Braide, Janet. William Brymner (1855-1925). Montreal: Concordia University, 1979
Canadian National Exhibition. Canadian National Exhibition: Department of Fine Arts, August 25-September 10th, 1917. Toronto: 1917
Cherry, Deborah. Painting Women: Victorian Women Artists. London, New York: Routledge, 1993
Crombie, Theodore. "Round the Galleries: Gatherings from Moor and Fen." Apollo 99 (Jun. 1974): 462
Davies, Blodwen. "Canadian Women of Brush and Chisel." Chatelaine 3 (Jun. 1930): 9, 42
Dignam, Mary E. "Distinguished Professional Women." Women of Canada: Their Life and Work. Toronto: National Council of Women of Canada, 1900
Doyle, Lynn C. "Art Notes." Saturday Night 9.11 (1 Feb. 1896): 9
Doyle, Lynn C. "Art." Saturday Night 9.20 (4 Apr. 1896): 15
Eastwood, Elizabeth Cobb Stewart. The Descendants of Andrew Ford of Weymouth Massachusetts. Part II: The Seventh Generation. Cleveland: Privately Published, 1982
Graves, Algernon. A Dictionary of Artists Who Have Exhibited Works in the Principal London Exhibitions from 1760-1893. New York: Lennox Hill, 1970
Harper, J. Russell. Early Painters and Engravers in Canada Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1970
Harper, J. Russell. Painting in Canada: A History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1966, 2nd edition 1977
Hill, C.C. and P.B. Landry, eds. National Gallery Catalogue, Canadian Art. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1988
Hill, Charles. For an Integration of the Arts Artists, Architects, & Artisans: Canadian Art: 1890-1918 Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2013
Hubbard, R. H. The National Gallery of Canada Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. Ottawa: Published for the Trustees by University of Toronto Press, 1957
Hughes, Margaret E. A Guide to Canadian Painters. Toronto: King's Printer, 1940
Hughes, Margaret E. "A Guide to Canadian Painters." Ontario Library Review 24.3 (May-Aug. 1940)
Johnson, Jane. Works Exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists 1824-1893 and the New English Art Club 1888-1917. Suffolk, England: Antique Collectors' Club, 1975, reprint 1987
Johnson, Jane and A. Greutzer. Dictionary of British Artists, 1880-1940. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1976
Johnston, E. F. B. "Painting and Sculpture in Canada." Canada and Its Provinces. Toronto: Glasgow, Brook and Co, 1914
Laroche, Ginette. "Décor intérieur de la maison Porteous." Les chemins de la mémoire Quebec: Les Publications du Québec, 1999
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.
MacTavish, Newton. The Fine Arts in Canada. Toronto: Macmillan, 1925
McKendry, Blake. A to Z of Canadian Art: Artists and Art Terms. Kingston: B. McKendry, 1997
McMann, Evelyn de Rostaing. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Formerly Art Association of Montreal: Spring Exhibitions, 1880-1970. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988
McMann, Evelyn de Rostaing. Royal Canadian Academy of Arts/Académie royale des arts du Canada: Exhibitions and Members 1880-1979 Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981
Miner, Muriel Miller. G.A. Reid, Canadian Artist; George Reid: A Biography. Toronto: Ryerson Press and Summerhill Press, 1946; (reprint) 1987
Muir, Elizabeth Gillan.. "Visual, Literary, and Performing Arts." An Unrecognized Contribution : Women and Their Work in 19th-Century Toronto. Dundurn Press, 2022. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2022
Murray, Joan. Ontario Society of Artists: 100 Years. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1972
Petteys, Chris, et al. Dictionary of Women Artists: An International Dictionary of Women Artists Born Before 1900. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1985
Robert Simpson Company Galleries. Small Picture Exhibition by Members of the O.S.A. Toronto: 1924
Robson, Albert Henry. Canadian Landscape Painters. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1932
Sutton, Denys. "Richard Ford: A Witty Hispanophile." Apollo 125 (Jan. 1987): 24-33
Tippett, Maria. By a Lady. Toronto: Viking, 1992
Westbridge, Anthony R. The Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction. Vancouver: Westbridge Publications, 2001
Wistow, David. Canadians in Paris 1867-1914. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1979
Wood, Christopher. The Dictionary of Victorian Painters. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1978

Writings by
Ford, Harriet. "A Travel Note." Canadian Magazine 7.2 (Jun. 1896): 177-8
Ford, Harriet. "Exhibition of the Royal Canadian Academy." Week 26 Apr. 1895
Ford, Harriet. "Mr. L. R. O'Brien's Watercolours." Week 22 Nov. 1895
Ford, Harriet. "The New President of the Royal Academy." Massey's Magazine 1.6 (Jun. 1896): 363-72
Ford, Harriet. "The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts." Canadian Magazine 3 (May 1894): 45-50
Ford, Harriet. "The Work of Mrs. Adrian Stokes." Studio 19.85 (Apr. 1900)

Full text pdfs of exhibition reviews
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Ottawa, ) "Beauty in Colors. Leading Pictures at the Art Exhibition Described."  Evening Journal (Ottawa)  .  p.5.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Ottawa, ) "Art Notes. The Royal Canadian Academy's Exhibition."  The Week (Toronto)  .  p.448-9.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) "The Ontario Society of Artists."  Toronto Saturday Night  .  p.7.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Royal Canadian Academy. 16th Annual Exhibition Opens This Evening With Private View in the Gallery of the Society of Artists, King Street West."  Globe (Toronto)  .  p.2.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Lynn C. Doyle.  "Royal Canadian Academy 16th Annual Exhibition. Open April 19th Till May 4th at The Art Gallery. King Street West Toronto. Admission 25 Cents."  Saturday Night (Toronto)  .  p.9.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Canadian Artists' Work. The Exhibition at the Art Gallery. To Be Formally Opened This Evening - Some of the Pictures of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Which Are on View."  Montreal Star  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Canadian Art. The R.C.A. of A. Opens Its Seventeenth Exhibition. Many Prominent People Present. A Herald Critic Tells What He Thought of the Great Collection."  Montreal Herald  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Among the Paintings. Some of the New Canvases Hanging in the Art Gallery."  Daily Witness (Montreal)  .  p.10.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Art."  Saturday Night (Toronto)  .  p.9.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Lynn C. Doyle.  "Art."  Saturday Night (Toronto)  .  p.15.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) James Mavor.  "Ontario Artists. Notice of Exhibits at the Annual Display. Several Good pictures."  Globe (Toronto)  .  p.10.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (, ) Jean Grant.  "The Royal Canadian Academy Exhibition."  Saturday Night (Toronto)  .  p.9.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) Lynn C. Doyle.  "Exhibition of the Ontario Society of Artists. Second Notice."  Globe (Toronto)  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) Lynn C. Doyle.  "Ontario Society of Artists."  Globe (Toronto)  .  p.28.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) M.L.F..  "Among the Pictures. At the O.S.A. Exhibition."  Toronto Star  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Toronto, ) "Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Society is Holding Its Twenty-Fifth Annual Exhibition. Oils and Water Colours from Pictures Now Shown Will Be Selected Those For St. Louis Exposition."  Montreal Star  .  p.5.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Toronto, ) "Art Exhibition. Annual Display of Royal Canadian Academy Opens at the Art Gallery. Three Hundred Pictures. Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Maritime Provinces are Represented - Collection of Special Interest."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.6.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Toronto, ) "Royal Academy Exhibition."  Montreal Witness  .  p.2.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Toronto, ) "The Royal Canadian Academy. A Critical Review of the Exhibition in Montreal."  The Toronto News  .  p.9.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition.: (Toronto, ) "Artists' Society Exhibition."  Globe (Toronto)  .  p.16.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition.: (Toronto, ) M.L.A.F..  "At The Picture Show."  Toronto Star  .  p.5.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Many Montreal Scenes Shown At Art Association's Exhibit."  Montreal Herald  .  p.7.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) "The Art Exhibit"  The Globe (Toronto)  .  p.9.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) M.L.A.F..  "Women Artists Are Fast Increasing in Numbers. They Total Over a Third of the Exhibitors at the Present Show - Descriptions of Some of the More Notable Canvasses."  Toronto Star  .  p.10.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) M.L.A.F..  "Paintings by Princess Pat. On Exhibition. Four Landscapes at Annual Exhibit of Ontario Society. Pictures of Real Life. Government is Buying Three of Them for the Provincial Art Museum."  Toronto Star  .  p.22.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) "Strong and Varied Pictures at the O.S.A. Exhibition."  The Globe (Toronto)  .  p.10.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) Irene B. Wrenshall.  "Toronto."  American Art News  .  13.24: p.6.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) Hector Charlesworth.  "O.S.A.'s Exhibition 1915."  Toronto Saturday Night  .  p.4.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Open Galleries. 288 Fine Pictures on Exhibition at 37th Annual Exhibition."  Montreal Herald  .  p.5.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Art Works on View Set High Standard."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.7.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "London, Ont., Artist Wins Scholarship. Royal Canadian Academy Has Many Interesting Pictures."  Globe and Mail (Toronto)  .  p. 5.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "19 Pictures for Nation. Trustees of National Gallery Buy Works at R.C.A. Show."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.3.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Nineteen Pictures Bought for Nation."  Montreal Herald  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Art and Artists"  Globe and Mail (Toronto)  .  p. 10.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) Hector Charlesworth.  "The O.S.A. Exhibition. Jazz by the New School; but Some Works of Real Appeal."  Toronto Saturday Night  .  p.3.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) Hector Charlesworth.  "O.S.A. Annual Exhibition. Technical Average High and Group System Disappearing."  Toronto Saturday Night  .  p.3.   Full-text pdf
Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, ) Hector Charlesworth.  "Ontario Society of Artists. Brilliant Portraiture the Outstanding Feature of This Year's Show."  Toronto Saturday Night  .  p.3.   Full-text pdf

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