John Goodwin Lyman

"John Goodwin Lyman" (Born in Biddeford, Maine, 29 September 1886Died Barbados: Christ Church, 26 May 1967) was a Canadian modernist painter active largely in Montreal. In the 1930s he did much to promote modern art in Canada, founding the Contemporary Art Society in 1939. Stylistically he opposed both the Group of Seven and the Canadian Group of Painters, painting in a more "refined" style influenced by the School of Paris.

Biography

Formative Years (1886-1913)

Childhood

Lyman's parents were Americans who emigrated to Victoria, B.C., and moved to Montreal around the time that he was born. As their house was in the progress of being built, Mrs. Lyman spent the fall of 1886 at her parent's house in Biddeford, Maine, where she gave birth. She died shortly before John's second birthday.

Education

After spending two years at McGill Universty, Lyman departed for Paris in spring of 1907, where he studied art until the fall, when at his father's urging he returned to study architecture at the Royal College of Art. January of next year found him back in Paris, where he studied at Académie Julian under Laurens. There he formed a friendship with fellow Canadian James William Morris. Lyman enrolled at the Academie Matisse in the fall of 1909, which he left due to illness the next spring, returning to Montreal in the summer of 1910. Despite the brevity of his encounter with the master, Matisse would be a primary influence upon Lyman in the years to come. [harv|Reid|1998|p=203]

Early Career

That summer he married Corrine St. Pierre, and the two spent the next two years travelling intermittantly in France. Upon his return to Montreal he exhibited four Fauve inspired works in the spring exhibit of the Art Academy of Montreal, which were met with great vitriol in the conservative press of Quebec. Another exhibit of forty-two oil paintings, his first one man show, opened on May twenty-first and received a similar reaction.

Years of Exile (1913-31)

Due to his rejection in his native country, Lyman and his wife spent twenty-eight paripatetic years living in France, Spain, and North Africa. He bought a villa in Southern France in 1922, where he corresponded with Matisse. In October of 1927 he briefly returned to Montreal for the opening of his second one man show. The Great Depression lessened his income, forcing him to return to Montreal in 1931. [harv|Reid|1998|p=205]

Return to Montreal (1931-1948)

A third one man show was held in Montreal in February of 1931. In November of that year Lyman began his attempts to bring European ideas of modern art to Canada with the opening of his Atelier, an academy-style school of art, established under the auspices of McGill University. It closed after just over a year due to lack of profit. In 1936 he began to write a column on art for The Montrealer that ran through 1940. The years 1936-39 saw three more one man shows, including one in New York City in May of 1937.

The Contemporary Art Society

In 1938 Lyman began to gather together Montreal painters who were disillusioned with the Canadian Group and The Group of Seven, and in December of that year they exhibited together as The Eastern Group of Painters. The Comtemporary Art Society was formally organized in January of 1939, with Lyman as its first president. Through this body he organized exhibits of modern European art in Montreal, the first of which, titled "Art of Our Day" opened in May 1939. It included work by Kandinsky, Derain, and Modigliani. The first exhibit of the group was held in December 1939. By 1948 the CAS was rent by opposing factions with Paul-Emile Borduas and Alfred Pellan at their heads. After Borduas' election as president of the group in 1948, Pellan withdrew his group from the society, upon which Borduas resigned. Lyman, seeing that the CAS could no longer effectively fulfill its purpose, made a motion to dissolve the body. This was accepted at a meeting on November 18, 1948.

Later Years (1948-1967)

Lyman continued to paint figures in the years following the dissolution of the CAS, but the avant garde had shifted to the Automatism of Borduas and pure abstraction. In 1949 he accepted a professorship at McGill University, becoming the director of the fine arts department in 1952.

Works

*"Profile of Corinne", 1913. Maurice Corbeil, Montreal.
*"Reading", 1925. Anatoly Ciakca, Vancouver.
*"Woman With a White Collar", 1936. National Gallery of Canada, Ottowa.

Citations

References

* cite book
last = Reid
first = Dennis
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = A Concise History of Canadian Painting, Second Edition
publisher = Oxford University Press Canada
date = 1988
location = Don Mills
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 0-19-540663-X

External Links

* [http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/search/bio_e.jsp?iartistid=3403 National Gallery of Canada biography]
* [http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/search/artist_work_e.jsp?iartistid=3403 Works at the NGC]