Frederick Simpson Coburn

Sherbrooke, Tuesday 19 January 2010 - Beginning on Saturday 30 January, the Musée des Beaux-arts de Sherbrooke presents until May 2010, an exhibition in homage to Frederick Simpson Coburn. The exhibition will feature an aspect of his work which is less well-known, his portraits. The vernissage will take place on Saturday 30 January, at 5:00 p.m., in the presence of Coburn’s great-niece, Tery Coburn.

The exhibition: This exhibition of some 50 works is organized by the Musée des Beaux-arts de Sherbrooke to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of this celebrated painter, a native of Melbourne in the Eastern Townships. The portraits-oils, drawings and illustrations- are drawn from the collection of the Musée, which holds the largest body of his work in Canada.

Frederick Simpson Coburn had a solid academic background. In Montreal, he studied at the Conseil des arts et manufactures, receiving a practical artistic training which permitted him to earn a good living as an illustrator. He then spent close to 25 years in Europe, where he studied in Berlin, London, Paris, and Anvers. Returning to Canada, he became known principally for his traditional winter scenes, which sold very well. During the 1930s, as critics began to complain that his work lacked development, he returned to his artistic interest of the 1890s: nudes and portraits. He painted a number of portraits of his wife, Malvina Scheepers. Later, after his wife’s death, he became interested in dance, and at this time the dancer Charlotte Lavoie, known as Carlotta, became in a way his “muse”. This new direction in Coburn’s work was well received by the critics, though he continued to produce his trade-mark winter scenes throughout his career

F. S. Coburn Untitled c. 1936 Oil on canevas Coll. MBAS

Biographical notes: Born in Upper Melbourne in the Eastern Townships, in 1871, Coburn published his first illustrations in The Dominion Illustrated, at the young age of 17. The following year, like most of his contemporaries, he travelled to Europe, where he studied at the Berlin Academy. His illustrations of the works of Louis-Honoré Fréchette, Charles Dickens, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Browning and Washington Irving were published in Europe, in Canada and in the United-States. He also published regularly in McLure’s Magazine, Harper’s Weekly, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Monthly Illustrator, Scribner’s Magazine and on the cover of Life magazine. The influence of his European education is evident in his drawings and studies of men, women and landscapes: a subtlety in presentation, a sensitivity in evocation and a profound respect for the subject. He died in his native village in 1960.

The Musée des Beaux-arts de Sherbrooke is supported financially by the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition feminine, and by the City of Sherbrooke. Visitors are welcome from Tuesday to Sunday, from noon to 5:00 p.m. The Musée is located at 241 Dufferin, in the centre of town. Entry fees: $7.50 for adults, $6.00 for seniors, and $5.00 for students. Family rates are available. Guided tours in French are offered on Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m.; tours in English or group tours may be had at any time with advance reservations.