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Biography & Autobiography Artists, Architects, Photographers

James Wilson Morrice

Painter of Light and Shadow

by (author) Wayne Larsen

Publisher
Dundurn Press
Initial publish date
May 2008
Category
Artists, Architects, Photographers, Canadian, Historical
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781550028188
    Publish Date
    May 2008
    List Price
    $17.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781459714922
    Publish Date
    May 2008
    List Price
    $7.99

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Description

James Wilson Morrice (18651924) was a Canadian painter of extraordinary passion and simplicity whose canvases and oil sketches are valued throughout the world and cherished in Canada as our first real examples of modern art.

Though cut short by chronic alcohol abuse, Morrice’s restless bohemian life was spent in constant motion. From the colourful canals of Venice to the sun-drenched markets of North Africa to the snowy streets of Quebec City, he was, as his friend Henri Matisse described him, "always over hill and dale, a little like a migrating bird but without any very fixed landing place."

In James Wilson Morrice, Wayne Larsen chronicles the creative but often troubled life of this early cultural icon as he travels in search of the colours, compositions, and subtle effects of light that would inspire a revolution in Canadian art.

About the author

Wayne Larsen is a Montreal artist, editor, and writer whose work has appeared in a wide variety of publications. Currently, he teaches graduate-level journalism at Concordia University and is the author of A.Y. Jackson: The Life of a Landscape Painter and James Wilson Morrice: Painter of Light and Shadow. He lives in Verdun, Quebec.

Wayne Larsen's profile page

Editorial Reviews

"Wayne Larsen, a journalist, educator and landscape painter delivers in James Wilson Morrice another first-rate biography of an important Canadian artist."

CM Magazine

"Larson infuses Morrice's biography with colour and context, from snowy Montreal winters to crowded Parisian caf He presents a compelling and laudable portrait of a painter and his exciting milieu." (Fall/Winter 2008)

Montreal Review of Books

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