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YOUNG, Helen Granger
- Born
- Mimico, Ontario, 1922
- Died
- Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2023
- Biography synopsis
- Helen Granger Young is internationally recognized for the numerous monuments she sculpted. At a young age, she won a scholarship to the Ontario College of Art where she studied under Charles Fraser Comfort and Franklin Carmichael, a member of the Group of Seven. In addition to sculpture, she produced portrait and landscape paintings, worked as a commercial artist for the Eaton's and the Hudson's Bay stores, and was also an art instructor. In the 1940s, she participated in Canada’s war effort, producing technical drawings of military tanks and aircraft. She sculpted initially in porcelain and later in bronze. Her porcelain sculptures are included in the collections of Buckingham Palace, the Kremlin, and the Vatican among others. Young’s bronze monuments are located in public sites throughout Canada. One of her best known monuments, the "Famous Five," represents Nellie McClung, who fought for women's right to vote in Manitoba in 1916, along with four Alberta women who succeeded in obtaining equal rights in 1928. The sculpture is located on the grounds of the legislature in Winnipeg. In 2013 Young was a recipient of the Order of Manitoba as well as the YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction Award.
- Media used
- Painting
- Sculpture
- Education
- Ontario College of Art & Design (formerly Ontario School of Art) (under Dr. Charles Fraser Comfort and Franklin Carmichael)
- File & Archive locations
- Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
- Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
- 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
- University of Calgary Library, AB
- Vancouver Art Gallery, BC - Library
- Winnipeg Art Gallery, MA - Clara Lander Library
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- "12 Honoured with 'Woman of Distinction' Awards." Winnipeg Free Press 1 May 2013
- Knapp, Shelley. "Finalists Named: Famous Five Sculptor to be Chosen Saturday." Calgary Herald 17 Sept. 1997: B.3
- Peniston-Bird, Corinna. "War and Peace in the Cloakroom: The Controversy over the Memorial to the Women of World War II." Representations of Peace and Conflict, ed. S. Gibson, S. Mollan. Basingstoke:: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012
- Shipley, Nan. "Helen Granger Young- Foremost Canadian Sculptor." Arts West Magazine 6.9 (Oct 1981): 49
- Shipley, Nan. "Helen Granger Young: The Sculptress of Winnipeg." Winnipeg Woman 1954:20
- Stockland, Peter. "From Canada's Famous 5 to the Arc de Triomphe How Public Art Touches Us." Calgary Herald 12 Oct. 1998: B4
- Zoratti, Jen. "Famous Five Deserve a Little More Credit." Winnipeg Free Press 11 Feb. 2015: A.5
Full text pdfs of exhibition reviews- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, March 16, 1900) "Ladies Contribute. Much Clever Work Sent to Art Exhibition by Gentler Sex." Montreal Star March 24, 1900. p.22. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, March 16, 1900) "The Spring Exhibition at the Art Gallery Closes this Evening." Montreal Herald April 07, 1900. p.17. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, March 17, 1905) "At the Art Gallery. An Enjoyable Private View." Daily Witness (Montreal) March 18, 1905. p.4. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, March 17, 1905) "Painting on China at Art Gallery. Many Beautiful Exhibits Are Being Shown this Year. Some Novel Designs." Montreal Star April 01, 1905. p.?. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition.: (Montreal, March 23, 1908) "Exhibition of Art. Some Brilliant Canvases Dazzle Eye in 24th Spring Exhibit in Art Gallery." Gazette (Montreal) March 23, 1908. p.4. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, April 02, 1909) "Exhibition of Art. High Water Mark Reached in This Year's Spring Showing in Art Galleries. Stricter Standard Set." Gazette (Montreal) April 03, 1909. p.9. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, April 05, 1910) St. G. B.. "Art and Artists." Montreal Herald April 09, 1910. p.9. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, March 14, 1912) "Princess Patricia's Work Shown at Spring Exhibition of the Art Association." Daily Witness (Montreal) March 15, 1912. p.11. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, March 14, 1912) "Art Opening, a Social Event. A Princess Exhibits." Gazette (Montreal) March 15, 1912. p.4. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, March 26, 1915) "Spring Art Show Has 478 Exhibits. Even Excellence Dominant Note at Art Association Which Opened Last Night. Nothing Very Daring." Gazette (Montreal) March 26, 1915. p.5. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, March 24, 1916) "Younger Artists Well Represented. Some Leading Exhibitors Are Absent from Thirty-Third Spring Exhibition." Gazette (Montreal) March 24, 1916. p.6. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, March 22, 1917) "No Freak Pictures at Spring Show. Big Exhibition at Art Gallery but Works Small in Size. An Added Attraction: French War Posters, Medals and Souvenirs on View to Aid Red Cross Work." Gazette (Montreal) March 23, 1917. p.13. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, March 27, 1924) "Meritorious Work at Spring Exhibit. Mural Paintings in R.C.A. Competition Part of Entries at Art Gallery." Gazette (Montreal) March 28, 1924. p.15. Full-text pdf
