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BOBAK, Molly Lamb

Born
Vancouver, B.C., 1922
Died
Fredericton, NB, 2014
Biography synopsis
Molly Joan Lamb Bobak was born on 25 February 1922 in Vancouver, British Columbia. She studied art at the Vancouver School of Art from 1938-1941 with Jack Shadbolt and Charles Scott. In 1942 she joined the Canadian Women's Army Corps and became the first Canadian female war artist in 1945; she painted in this capacity at Aldershot, Britain, and later in Holland. Of her experiences she wrote an article entitled "I Love the Army" and was quoted as saying, "It was the humanity I tried to capture in my paintings." On her return to Canada in 1946 she married Bruno Bobak and together they moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick. In 1950-51 Bobak painted in France after receiving a scholarship from the French government and in 1960-61 she returned to Europe on a Canada Council grant. By 1973 she had become a member of the Royal Canadian Academy. Bobak's paintings are in many collections around the world but she was also an accomplished illustrator and teacher. She worked for many national and provincial arts organizations such as the National Film Board of Canada and as well served on the National Gallery's Ottawa Advisory Board.
Media used
Painting
Education
Vancouver School of Art, 1938 - 1941 (under Jack Shadbolt, Charles H. Scott)
Memberships
Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, 1946
Canadian Society of Graphic Art, 1952
Canadian Group of Painters, 1957
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, 1973
File & Archive locations
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
National Art Library, UK - Victoria and Albert Museum
University of British Columbia - Rare Books and Special Collections
University of New Brunswick - Archives and Special Collections Department
University of British Columbia Archives
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, ON
Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, QC
Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
Toronto Reference Library, ON
University of Calgary Library, AB
Artexte Information Centre, QC - Documentation Centre
Vancouver Art Gallery, BC - Library
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
London Public Library, ON
Vancouver Public Library, BC - Fine Arts and History Department
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, QC - Media Centre
Winnipeg Art Gallery, MA - Clara Lander Library
Alberta Culture and Community Spirit - Arts Branch
British Columbia Archives
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Library, FL
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
Molly Lamb Bobak, RCA, OC: Retrospective Loan Exhibition Montreal: Galerie Eric Klinkhoff, 2014
"A Loyalist Bastion Bathed in Light - Molly Bobak's Fredericton." Globe and Mail 10 Apr. 1982: E5
"Art on Parade." Times Colonist (Victoria) 7 Apr. 1995: 1
"Molly Lamb Bobak." Canadian Art 18.1 (Jan. 1961): 14-15
"War Through the Eyes of Two Artists." Ottawa Citizen 5 Oct. 1998: B3
Allain, Marei-Helene & Ian G. Lumsden. Vision 20/20: Marie-Helene Allain, Bruno Bobak, Molly Lamb Bobak ...: Gallery 78, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Gallery 78, 1996
Amos, Robert. "Artist Broke New Ground in the War." Times Colonist (Victoria) 4 Mar. 2004: D4
Amos, Robert. "The Girlish Spirit of Art." Times Colonist (Victoria) 10 Oct. 1999
Amos, Robert. "The Simple Forms of Molly Lamb Bobak." Times Colonist (Victoria) 29 Oct. 2000: B12
Anderson, Donna. "Author Unlocks Wartime Vault for Service Woman's Art, Diary." Vancouver Sun 7 Nov. 1992: E2
Baele, Nancy. "Man, Wife Offer Contrasting Approach." Ottawa Citizen 1 Nov. 1985: D7
Baele, Nancy. "War Artist's Sketches Reveal Irreverent Eye." Ottawa Citizen 15 Nov. 1992: D2
Barker, Stacey, et al. Outside the Lines : Women Artists and War Ottawa, ON.: Canadian War Museum. Musée canadien de la guerre, 2024
Bauer, Nancy. "Molly Lamb Bobak, a Painter of Silent Space." ArtsAtlantic 9.1 (1989): 35-38
Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Molly Lamb Bobak. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Beaverbrook Art Gallery, ?
Beaverbrook Art Gallery. New Brunswick Collects = le Nouveau-Brunswick Collectionee: Gary H. Stairs & Janet Stairs. 2005
Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Nine New Brunswick Artists = Neuf Artistes du Nouveau Brunswick / A Travelling Exhibition Organized and Circulated in New Brunswick by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton. 1973
Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Un Choix Personnel: La Collection de Roy L. Heenan/A Personal Choice: The Roy L. Heenan Collection. 2007
Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Watercolours by Molly Lamb Bobak. Fredericton: Beaverbrook Art Gallery, 1971
Bentley, Allen. "Molly Lamb Bobak and Hugh MacKinnon: Stained-Glass Windows: Class of 1936." Arts Atlantic 10.1 (Spring-Summer, 1990): 19-2
Boutilier, Alicia & Tobi Bruce. The Artist Herself : Self-portraits by Canadian Historical Women Artists / L'artiste elle-meme : autoportraits de femmes artistes au Canada Kingston, ON: Agnes Etherinton Art Centre. Hamilton: Art Gallery Hamilton, 2015
Centre Culturel Canadien (Paris, France). Le paysage Candien: Collection Firestone / Exposition Organisee par la Fondation du patrimoine Ontarien. Place unknown: Publisher unknown, 1984
Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery. Molly Lamb Bobak. London: Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery (Great Britain), 1968
Composing Room. "Robert Amost - Visual Art - Bobak Impresses, Inspires." Times Colonist (Victoria) 12 Aug. 1995: 1
Conde, Valerie. "Official Army Woman Artist." Windsor Daily Star 25 Aug. 1945
Donaldson, Marjory, & Molly Lamb Bobak. Molly Lamb Bobak's New Silkscreen Print, the Ball. Fredericton: University of New Brunswick Art Centre, 1988
Donovan, Stewart L. The Molly Poems & Highland Elegies. Wreck Cove, Nova Scotia: Breton Books, 2005
Farr, Dorothy and Luckyj, Natalie. From Women's Eyes: Women Painters in Canada Kingston: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1975
Fleisher, Pat. "Atlantic Provinces Journal." ArtMagazine (Canada) 7.25 (Mar. 1976): 21-36
Fleming, Marnie, curator; Essays by M. Fleming & A. Sears. Is There a There There? Place unknown: Publisher unknown, 2007
Foss, Brian & Cindy Richmond. Molly Lamb Bobak: A Retrospective. Regina: MacKenzie Art Gallery, 1993
Fulford, Robert. "Molly Lamb Bobak." Canadian Art 18.1 (Jan-Feb. 1961): 14-15
Gard, Peter. "Molly L. Bobak: A Retrospective. Memorial University Art Gallery. St. John's." Arts Atlantic 13.3 (Winter 1995): 9-10
Gauthier, Valerie. "Molly Lamb Bobak: Canada's First Official War Artist." National Gallery of Canada Magazine 9 May, 2022
http://www.gallery.ca/magazine/your-collection/molly-lamb-bobak-canadas-first-official-woman-war-artist
Gewurtz, Michelle. Molly Lamb Bobak: Life & Work. Toronto: Art Canada Institute/Institut de l'Art Canadien, 2018
http://aci-iac.ca/art-books/molly-lamb-bobak/
Giles, Linda & George Woodcock. "Painting, Painting ..." Vie des Arts 44.176 (Autumn 1999): 85
Gillis, Raina-Clair. "Artistic Impressions of War." Canadian Military Journal 6.3 (Autumn 2005): 75-80
Gossage, Carolyn. Carolyn Gossage Fonds 1969-2002
Grant, Brigid. "An Interview with Molly Lamb Bobak." Arts Atlantic 13.3 (Winter 1995) 36-39
Greenfield, Nathan M.. Anything but a Still Life: the Art and Lives of Molly Lamb and Bruno Bobak. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Goose Lane Editions, 2021
Heller, Jules and Nancy. North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century New York: Garland, 1995
Hubbard, R. H. The National Gallery of Canada Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture Ottawa: Published for the Trustees by University of Toronto Press, 1957
Jasmin, Claude. "Canadian Group of Painters, ou plusieurs peintres du Canada tout...anglais?" La Presse (Montreal) 30 Nov. 1963: 22
Jensen, Philip. "'As Only a Girl Could See It': The War Art of Molly Lamb Bobak. (First Woman to be Officially Designated as a Canadian War Artist (World War II))." Beaver: Exploring Canada's History 83.5 (Nov. 2003): 8-14
Koninklijk Nederlands Leger - en Wapenmuseum Generaal Hoefer. Victory Parade 1990
Kritzwiser, Kay. "Lamb Shares a Passion with Ferdinand the Bull." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 27 Nov. 1978: 13
Larocque, Yves. La Peinture Militaire Canadienne de la Deuxieme Guerre Mondiale. Montreal: University of Montreal, 1986
Lorenzo Society, University of New Brunswick. Molly Bobak / Bernard Safran Saint John, New Brunswick: Community Cable Council, 1983
Lumsden, Ian Gordon. "Bobak, Molly Joan." The Canadian Encyclopedia Toronto: Historical Foundation of Canada, 2001
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
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
Mersereau, Bob. "Just to Live Here and Be Friends: Fredericton's Two Bobak Artists." Atlantic Insight 10.3 (Mar. 1988): 13-17
Murray, Joan. "Interview with Molly Lamb Bobak." Canadian Collector 13.5 (Sept-Oct. 1978): 102-103
Musiol, Marie-Jeanne, et al. "Amnesie Internationale." Vie des Arts 158 (Spring 1995): 10-35
National Gallery of Canada. Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture: Canadian School Ottawa: Trustees of the National Gallery of Canada, 1957
National Gallery of Canada. Cowley, Bobak. Organized and Circulated by the National Gallery of Canada. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1964
New Brunswick Museum. 1963 Exhibition of Paintings by Molly Lamb and Bruce Bobak of Fredericton. Place unknown: Publisher unknown, 1963
Nowlan, Alden. "Learning About the Bobaks: Notes on Two Personal, Confessional Artists." Toronto Saturday Night 90.5 (Oct. 1975): 23-28
Nowlan, Alden. "Molly Bobak: A Gift for Finding Joy." Atlantic Insight 3 (Nov. 1981): 72-74
Oliver, Dean F. & Laura Brandon, foreword J.L. Granatstein. Canvas of War: Painting the Canadian Experience, 1914 to 1945. Vancouver, Ottawa, Hull: Douglas & McIntyre; Can. War Museum; Museum of Civilization, 2001
Paquin, Nycole. "Aquarelles de Molly Lamb Bobak: un Art de Prestidigitation." Vie des Arts 32.103 (Mar. 1988): 56-58
Pfeiffer, Dorothy. "Women Artists' Work On View." Gazette (Montreal) 9 Apr. 1960
Prakash, A. K. Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women's Art Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2008
Reichwein, P. and K. Wall. Uplift: Visual Culture at the Banff School of Fine Arts Banff: Banff School of Fine Arts, 2020
Robertson, Heather, ed. A Terrible Beauty: The Art of Canada at War. Toronto: J. Lorimer, 1977
Rola, Monika. "Oh, What a Lovely War: Artist Molly Lamb Bobak." Homemaker's (Nov. 2000): 16-17
Ross, Malcolm Mackenzie. The Arts in Canada: A Stock-Taking at Mid-Century Toronto: Macmillan, 1959
Scott, Melanie. "War's Enduring Artistic Legacy." Ottawa Citizen 11 Feb. 2000: E1
Shadbolt, Doris. "Molly and Bruno Bobak." Canadian Art 9.3 (Spring 1952): 122-126
Shadbolt, Jack. Jack Shadbolt Fonds. 1934-1990
Smith, Stuart A. "Molly Lamb Bobak." Canadian Art 22.5 (Nov-Dec. 1965): 36-37
Stratford Festival, Ontario. Ten West Coast Painters... : the Art of Emily Carr. London: Hunter Printing London Ltd., 1960
Tippett, Maria. By a Lady Toronto: Viking, 1992
Tippett, Maria and Douglas Cole. From Desolation to Splendour: Changing Perceptions of the British Columbia Landscape Toronto: Clarke, Irwin and Company Ltd, 1977
Tousley, Nancy. "Retrospective: MacKenzie Art Gallery; Regina, Saskatchewan; Traveling Exhibit." Canadian Art 10 (Winter 1993): 15
Trepanier, Esther, Gemey Kelly and Emily Falvey. Full Space: Modern Art from the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art/Plein Espace: l'Art Moderne de la Collection Firestone d'Art Canadien. Ottawa: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2004
Tuele, Nicholas, and Christina Johnson-Dean. British Columbia Women Artists, 1885-1985 Victoria: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1985
University of New Brunswick Art Centre. Bruno Bobak: From the University Collection / Molly Lamb Bobak: From the University Collection. Place unknown: Publisher unknown, 1979
University of New Brunswick Art Centre. Themes of Molly Lamb Bobak Place unknown: University of New Brunswick Art Centre, 1979
Woloschuk, Michael. "Canada's War Art Comes Out From the Cold." Ottawa Citizen 6 Mar. 1997: A5

Writings by
Bobak, Molly Lamb. Lamb's Drawings are Published in "New World" / A Visit to Toronto, August 30, 1943. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba, 2003
Bobak, Molly Lamb. Molly Lamb Bobak 1970
Bobak, Molly Lamb. Molly Lamb Bobak Slide Collection. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba, 2003
Bobak, Molly Lamb. The Queen Comes to New Brunswick: Paintings and Drawings by Molly Lamb Bobak. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Beaverbrook Art Gallery, 1977
Bobak, Molly Lamb. Wild Flowers of Canada: Impressions and Sketches of a Field Artist Toronto: Pagurian Press, 1978, 44
Bobak, Molly Lamb. "I Love the Army." Canadian Art 2.4 (Apr. 1945): 147-149
Bobak, Molly Lamb. "Leisure to Paint." Canadian Art 16.2 (May 1959): 101-107, 147
Bobak, Molly Lamb & Carolyn Gossage, ed. Double Duty: Sketches and Diaries of Molly Lamb Bobak, Canadian War Artist. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1992
Fitch, Sheree, illustrations by Molly Lamb Bobak. Merry-Go-Day Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1991
Fitch, Sheree, illustrations by Molly Lamb Bobak. Toes in My Nose and Other Poems. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1991
Itani, Frances, illustrations by Molly Lamb Bobak. Linger by the Sea. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Brunswick Press, 1979
Scoones, Anny; illustrations by Molly Lamb & Bruce Bobak. Home: Tales of a Heritage Farm. Sidney, British Columbia: Hedgerow Press, 2004

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