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SMITH, Jori (Marjorie Thurston)

Born
Montréal, Québec, 1907
Died
Montréal, Québec, 2005
Biography synopsis
Jori Smith’s extensive painting career spanned nearly seventy years. She began her art studies at the Art Association of Montreal with Randolph Hewton in 1922, and later the same year transferred to the Ecole des Beaux Arts where she received a number of awards. In 1926 Albert Laberge, art critic for La Presse, singled her out as among the three best students at the school. In 1930 she married artist Jean Palardy with whom she worked closely. They set up a short-lived commercial art company with Jean-Paul Lemieux in 1930. They also painted together in the Charlevoix region of Quebec for a number of years. The portraits Jori Smith painted in this region are among some of her most noted works. In 1938 she became the only female member of the Eastern Group of Painters, and in 1939 was one of the founding members of the Contemporary Art Society where she exhibited in 1939, 1945, and 1946. Her work was also included in a number of the Spring Exhibitions of the Art Association of Montreal from 1928 to 1956 as well as the Montreal Arts Club in 1937. From 1955 to 1999 she had a number of solo shows in private galleries. She was the recipient of numerous awards, including a government grant to paint in Haiti in 1946, the Jessie Dow Prize for Painting in 1955, as well as the Medaille by the Quebec National Assembly in 2001 and the Order of Canada in 2003. Her work is held in a number of collections including the Musée du Québec, Montreal Museum of Fine Art, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, National Gallery of Canada, and the National Archives of Canada.
Media used
Painting
Education
Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Montreal, 1922 - 1928
Art Association of Montreal, 1922 (under Randolph Hewton)
Memberships
Contemporary Arts Society, 1939
Eastern Group of Painters, 1938
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, 2000
File & Archive locations
Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, QC
Artexte Information Centre, QC - Documentation Centre
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, QC - Media Centre
Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
London Public Library, ON
Winnipeg Art Gallery, MA - Clara Lander Library
Vancouver Art Gallery, BC - Library
University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
Edmonton Art Gallery, AB - Library
Toronto Reference Library, ON
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
Alberta Culture and Community Spirit - Arts Branch
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
Eastern Group Exhibition: Eric Goldberg, Goodridge Roberts, Jori Smith, Philip Surrey. Montreal: 1945
Première Exposition des indépendants: [exposition] 26 avril au 3 mai '41. Québec: 1941
"Alliance arts et lettres ouvre, hier, sa troisième saison." La Patrie (Montreal) 11 Oct. 1938
"Art: Canadian Moderns At Fine Arts Museum." Gazette (Montreal) 8 Aug. 1953
"Coast to Coast in Art." Canadian Art 6.4 (1947): 178
"Eastern Group Exhibits at Scott's." Gazette (Montreal) 26 Nov. 1938
"Éléments de groupe." La Presse (Montreal) 20 Feb. 1937: 54
"Émile Brunet, un des nôtres." La Presse (Montreal) 12 Dec. 1936
"Exhibition of Art by Canadian Women." Canadian Art 4.2 (Feb-Mar. 1947): 80
"For the third time the Produced in Canada Exhibition ..." Montrealer 1 Nov. 1937
"Jori Smith Show Covers 15 Years." Montreal Star 19 Mar. 1955
"La peinture contemporaine du Canada à Andover: Révélation." Le Canada (Montreal) 13 Oct. 1942
"La peinture et les peintres canadiens." Le Canada (Montreal) 11 Oct. 1933: 5
"Le 51e Salon du Printemps." La Presse (Montreal) 20 Apr. 1934
"Oils by Jori Smith at Dominion Gallery." Gazette (Montreal) 12 Mar. 1955
"Peintres divers de Montreal." La Presse (Montreal) 17 May 1941
"Picture Sale Aiding Orphans in Spain." Gazette (Montreal) 5 Mar. 1938
"Salon du Printemps." La Presse (Montreal) 4 Mar. 1948
"Something New in Spring Styles." Canadian Art 5.4 (Spring-Summer 1948): 200-1
"The Week's Review: Some features of the Spring Exhibition." Star (Montreal) 26 Apr. 1934: 90
"Une étude sur l'art canadien." La Patrie (Montreal) 18 Apr. 1934: 37
"With Trilliums in Her Hair." Canadian Art 4.4 (Summer 1947): 147-8
"Women's Works on Exhibit." Standard (Montreal) 2 Apr. 1949
Abley, Mark. "Painter Jori Smith's Passion for Art Still Glows." Gazette (Montreal) 6 Apr. 1996: A7
Amos, Robert. "A Magical Insight into Young Women's Souls." Times Colonist (Victoria) 30 Mar. 1999: D6
Antaki, Karen and Rosalind Pepall. Jori Smith: A Celebration/une célébration Montreal: Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University, 1997
Armstrong, Julian. "Lifetime of Art: Montreal Artist, 94, Awarded Medal of National Assembly." Gazette (Montreal) 9 May 2001: A7
Art Association of Montreal. Catalogue of the Sixty-Second Annual Spring Exhibition of the Art Association of Montreal. Montreal: Art Association of Montreal, 1945
Aylen, Marielle. Modern Vision and National Memory: Jori Smith, the Montreal Avant-garde, and Charlevoix Painters Toronto: York University, 2009
Aylen, Marielle Barbara Desiree. Interfaces of the Portrait: Liminality and Dialogism in Canadian Women's Portraiture Between the Wars. Ottawa: Carleton University, 1996
Ayre, Robert. "Art Notes: Two Displays Attractive." Montreal Star 1 Aug. 1953
Ayre, Robert. "Art: Two Exhibitions." Montrealer (Feb. 1937)
Ayre, Robert. "Arts Club Exhibition by Eleven Painters." Gazette (Montreal) 3 Feb. 1937
Ayre, Robert. "Canadian Group of Painters' Exhibition is Small but Good." Standard (Montreal) 14 Mar. 1942: 29
Ayre, Robert. "Jori Smith Show Covers 15 Years." Montreal Star 14 Mar. 1955
Ayre, Robert. "The Canadian Group of Painters." Canadian Art 6.3 (Spring 1949): 98-102
Ballantyne, Michael. "La Femme Imagiste: The Women Painters of Quebec." Montreal Star Feb. 1965
Bernatchez, Raymond. "Jori Smith et la nécessité vitale de l'art...à 86 ans." La Presse (Montreal) 17 Apr. 1993: E15
Bertrand, Magdeleine. Les Femmes artistes du Québec de 1875 à 1925. Montreal: Université de Montréal, 1990
Blair, Robert. "Quel est l'intérêt de la plastique? et pour qui?" Le Quartier Latin (Montreal) 17 Nov. 1955: 4
Canadian Group of Painters. Canadian Group of Painters, Exhibition 1942. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1942
Canadian Group of Painters. Canadian Group of Painters, Exhibition 1955-1956. Montreal: 1956
Carroll, Ann. "On a Roll: Painter, 95, Saluted." Gazette (Montreal) 6 Jul. 2002: A4
Chicoine, René. "Le Salon du Printemps." L'Ordre 28 Apr. 1934: 4
Daniel, Pierre. "Peintres canadiens." La Presse (Montreal) 14 Mar. 1942: 33
de Repentigny, R. "La course gaie du pinçeau et les notations claires: Jori Smith à son meilleur." La Presse (Montreal) 17 Mar. 1955
Dubé, Richard and François Tremblay. Peindre un pays: Charlevoix et ses peintres populaires. Laprairie, Quebec: Éditions Broquet Inc, 1989
Dumas, Paul. "Recent Trends in Montreal Painting." Canadian Art 4.2 (Mar. 1947): 120-7
Duval, Paul. "Montreal Artists Establishing New Landmarks in Canadian Art." Saturday Night (10 Nov. 1945)
École des Hautes Études Commerciales. Exposition de peinture canadienne. Montreal: École des Hautes Études Commerciales, 1955
Edmonton Art Gallery. Contemporary Art Society/La Société d'art contemporain: Montréal, 1939-1948. Edmonton: Edmonton Art Gallery, 1980
Farr, Dorothy and Luckyj, Natalie. From Women's Eyes: Women Painters in Canada. Kingston: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1975
Gagnon, François. "Toutes les tendances sont passées en revue." La Presse (Montreal) 7 Apr. 1949
Galérie Dominion. Rediscovering Jori Smith: Selected Works, 1932-1993. Montreal: Galérie Dominion, 1993
Gauthier, Ninon. "Rencontre avec Jori Smith." Le Collectioneur 3.1 (1981): 11-21
Girard, Henri. "Eastern Group of Painters à l'Art Gallery." Le Canada (Montreal) 7 May 1942
Girard, Henri. "Le salon du printemps." Le Canada (Montreal) 31 Mar. 1932
Girard, Henri. "Quelques expositions de peinture." La Revue Moderne (Apr. 1931): 7
Hill, Charles. Canadian Painting in the Thirties. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1975
Huot, Maurice. "Peintres féminins." La Patrie (Montreal) 6 Apr. 1949: 16
Hustak, Alan. "Montreal Artist Found Winter 'Too White'." National Post 25 Nov. 2005: PM13
Hustak, Alan. "She Painted with Joy: Wild, Impulsive and Compulsive Artist Grew up in N.D.G." Gazette (Montreal) 20 Nov. 2005: D7
Jalder, Léon. "Marjoire Smith et Jean Palardy." La Tribune (Sherbrooke) 17 May 1930
Kozinska, Dorota. "A Life in Art: Jori Smith Began Painting in the 1920s - She's Still at It." Gazette (Montreal) 25 Jan. 1997: I6
L'Allier, Pierre. "Reportage - L'art au féminin au Québec: Femmes artistes du siècle adolescent." Continuité 63 (Winter 1995): 34-6
Laberge, Albert. "Les travaux des élèves de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts." La Presse (Montreal) 3 Jun. 1926
Laberge, Albert. "Remarquable exposition de paysages et de portraits." La Presse (Montreal) 16 Feb. 1931
Le Marchand, L. "Une double personnalité semble se partager le talent de Jori Smith." Photo Journal (Dec. 1947): 30
Lehmann, Henry. "Reflections on a Lively Career: Jori Smith turns 92 on Jan.1." Gazette (Montreal) 19 Dec. 1998: J1
Lyman, John. "Canadian Art Show in U.S. Is Best Yet Sent Abroad." Standard (Montreal) 24 Oct. 1942
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.
McInnes, G. Campbell. "Contemporary Canadian Artists." Canadian Forum (Jul. 1937)
Meadowcroft, Barbara. Rediscovering Jori Smith: Selected Works 1932-1993. Montreal: Dominion Gallery, 1993
Musée du Québec. Au féminin: choix d'oeuvres de la collection du Musée du Québec, 1920-1930. Québec: Musée du Québec, 1997
National Council of Women of Canada. Canadian Women Artists, Sponsored by National Council of Women of Canada and National Council of Women of the U.S. New York: Riverside Museum, 1947
National Gallery of Canada and Vancouver Art Gallery. Recent Quebec Painting. Vancouver: National Gallery of Canada and Vancouver Art Gallery, 1952
Nixon, Virginia. "Humorous bronze sculptures and calm, alienated fantasy." Gazette (Montreal) 3 May 1975: 52
Normand, Renée. "Les Arts: A la West End Art Gallery se tient présentement une exposition de femmes peintres canadiens." Le Canada (Montreal) 19 Apr. 1949
Pageot, Edith-Anne. Images du sujet, du feminin et du masculin chez Jori Smith, Goodridge Roberts, John Lyman et Maurice Gagnon. Montreal: Université de Montréal, 2004
Pageot, Edith-Anne. "Jori Smith, une figure de la modernité picturale québécoise. Etude de cas: portrait de l'enfant." Globe, revue internationale d'études québécoise [numéro spécial: Le vingtième siècle québécois des femmes]. 3 (2000): 145-171
Reynald. "Femmes-peintres dont l'art est viril." La Presse (Montreal) 9 Feb. 1933
Reynald. "Nos aspirants au modernisme résolu: La Société d'Art Contemporain expose aux nouvelles galeries Frank Stevens." La Presse (Montreal) 23 Dec. 1939: 43
Roussan, Jacques. "Femmes peintres du Quebec." Perspectives 27 Apr. 1975
Russell, Bruce. "Realism Features Contemporary Art Show: Exhibition Opens at Fine Arts Museum." Star (Montreal) 9 Dec. 1952
St. Jean, France. La Réception critique dans la presse montréalaise francophone des décennies 1930 et 1940 de l'oeuvre de cinq femmes artistes: Prudence Heward, Lilias Torrance Newton, Anne Savage, Marian Scott et ... Montreal: Université du Québec à Montréal, 1999
Stone, M. J. "Jori Smith Artist 1907-2005." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 2 Jan. 2006: S6
The All-India Fine Arts and Crafts Society. 3rd International Contemporary Art Exhibition 1957 : Delhi, Ahmedebad, Hyderabad, Calcutta and Amritsar. New Delhi: The All-India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, 1957
Tierney, Cara. Jori Smith: A Contextual Analysis. Ottawa: Carleton University, 2004
Tippett, Maria. By a Lady. Toronto: Viking, 1992
Trepanier Esther. Peinture et Modernite au Quebec 1919-1939 Montreal: Editions Nota bene, 1998
Trepanier, Esther and Landry, Pierre. Femmes artistes du XXe siecle au Quebec: Oeuvres du Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec. Quebec, Quebec: Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec, 2010.
Varley, Christopher. La Société d'art contemporain, Montréal 1939-1948. Edmonton: Edmonton Art Gallery, 1980

Writings by
Smith, Jori. Charlevoix County, 1930. Manotick, Ontario: Penumbra Press, 1998

Full text pdfs of exhibition reviews
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Spring Exhibition at Art Galleries. Younger Men and Women Encouraged by Jury of Selection."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Albert Laberge.  "Appréciation des oeuvres de quelques-uns de nos peintures. Plusieurs toiles deja vendues."  La Presse (Montreal)  .  p.9.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) S. Morgan-Powell.  "The Spring Exhibition."  Star (Montreal)  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Spring Exhibition at Art Galleries. Jury Selection Sympathetic to Sincere and Normal Work - Promise Shown by New Exhibitors."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.12.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Albert Laberge.  "Nouvelle visite au salon des peintres Canadiens. Intéressants tableaux par Alex Jackson, Rita Mount, Christina Harrington, George Fox, F.S. Coburn - De superbes lithographies par Gordon Lyman et de vigoureuses pointes-sèches par Kathleen Daly."  La Presse (Montreal)  .  p.16.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Spring Exhibition Has Private View."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.3.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Henri Girard.  "Le salon du printemps."  Revue Moderne  .  10.7: p.10.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Art Association 48th Spring Show High In Interest."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.16.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Albert Laberge.  "Ouverture de l'exposition de peintures et sculptures."  La Presse (Montreal)  .  p.70.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Art Association's Spring Exhibition Is 49th of Series. Some Five Hundred Works Greet Invited Guests at Private View."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.6.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Art Association Has Forty-Ninth Annual Spring Exhibition."  Montreal Star  .  p.7.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Pictures at Art Association Have Wide Variety in Theme."  Montreal Star  .  p.12.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Henri Girard.  "Le salon du printemps."  Le Canada (Montreal)  .  p.5.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "50th Spring Show Opened to Public. Jury Shows Open Mind. From Over 1,000 Entries, 543 Works Representative of Various Schools Have Been Selected."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.6.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Reynald.  "Le 50e salon du printemps. L'exposition la plus nombreuse et la plus diverse jamais réunie. Lentes orientations vers le colorisme. La part des femmes. Les Canadiens-français."  La Presse  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Spring Exhibition of Art Association Was Opened on Thursday."  Montreal Star  .  p.19.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Spring Exhibition of the Art Association of Montreal"  Montreal Star  .  17.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Reynald.  "A propos du vol au Salon du Printemps. L'Art Association n'est pas engagée vis-à-vis les artistes volés. — La garde des trésors. — Le pinascope au Louvre. — Portraits nostalgiques d'Oscar de Lall. Les prix Jessie Dow."  La Presse  .  p.20.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Governor-General Opens Annual Art Exhibition. His Excellency Recalls Tradition of Predecessors-Stresses Art's Part in Renaissance of National Taste."  Montreal Star  .  p.20.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Robert Ayre.  "The Royal Canadian Academy."  Canadian Forum  .  p.141.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Art Association Spring Show Opens. Private View Inaugurates Exhibition Containing Over Five Hundred Works."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.17.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Fifty-First Spring Exhibition of the Art Association."  Montreal Star  .  p.15.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Reynald.  "Le 51e salon de printemps. Morte-saison pour les nôtres."  La Presse (Montreal)  .  p.29.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Lucien Desbiens.  "Les expositions. Le salon du printemps."  Le Devoir (Montreal)  .  p.3.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) René Chicoine.  "Le Salon du Printemps."  L'Ordre (Montreal)  .  p.4.   Full-text pdf

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