Tag Archives: Art

British Columbia, England, Genealogy, Great Britain, Military

The Making of a Canadian Artist

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JULIUS GRIFFITH –
RCA, OSA, CSPWC, CSGA
(1912-1997)

My collection of genealogy treasures includes two picture postcards sent to my Aunt Mary by her talented artist cousin, Julius Griffith, prior to his death in November 1997.

His meticulous handwriting described that day’s garden blooms, commented on the recent election, provided a short health update, news of a son moving back to Ottawa with his family and Lialia sending her love. At the very end, he writes “my show did quite well this time.”

“The Road between Allen’s Farms”

And so it should have. Her cousin, Julius Edward Griffith (1912-1997) was a successful enough painter in watercolour that the members of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colours (CSPW), voted for him to be included as a member. Co-founded by a group of prestigious painters including Group of Seven artists A.J. Casson and Franklin Carmichael in 1925, the association continues to exist and has a storied history. For their Diamond Jubilee in 1985, they selected 60 paintings, including one from cousin Julius, and gave them to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen formally exhibited the collection in Windsor Castle’s Drawing Gallery in 19861.

One of my two postcards could be a replica of his circa 1982 painting presented to the Queen, which was called “The Empty Farmhouse.” The official description describes it as a “watercolour view across fields of a square farmhouse with four windows, surrounded by trees.”

Julius Edward Griffith (1912-1997) was a successful painter in watercolour and oils, a graphic artist, an illustrator, a fine print maker and an art teacher.

As the only child of Katharine Ada Lindsay and Julius Henry Griffith, and born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Julius relished his grandfather Lindsay’s extensive art collection when he visited with him in Montreal, Quebec. Thus began his art education.

Julius Griffith – 1920

When Julius finished High School at 16, he was too young to attend the Royal Military College, as was his father’s family tradition. Instead, he studied at the Vancouver School of Art (Now Emily Carr University of Art + Design)under Charles H. Scott, F.H. Varley and J.W.G. MacDonald (two of which were Canada’s famous Group of Seven artists2). What a fantastic start to his artistic career! At the same time, he also learned block printing techniques from American artist Bruce Inverarity3 who lived in Vancouver at that time. Julius was immediately drawn to block printing because he enjoyed black and white contrast.

A few years later, he moved to England with his parents and studied at the Slade School of Art4 in London and continued his studies at the Central School of Arts & Crafts with Noel Rooke5 learning the technique of wood carving.

At age 21, Julius returned to Vancouver during the Depression hoping to get any kind of work as an artist. And he did! The owner of the Vancouver Sun newspaper commissioned him to paint two murals on the walls of his building and different groups of people were invited to watch his progress. Among these groups were his previous art teachers, Fred Varley and Jock Macdonald and their students at the time. He must have been so pleased at this role reversal!

In 1938, near the end of his fourth year back in England at the Royal College of Art6, he returned to Vancouver to see his father just before he died. After his father’s death, WWII interrupted Julius’ studies but he returned to England with his mother at that time as he wanted to serve.

During the war he worked with the “Air-raid Precautions” for a time and eventually joined the Red Cross. He worked in a country-house hospital in Sussex and, with so little to do, Julius taught art and learned to speak Russian.

What a serendipitous decision! He fell in love with his teacher – nurse Lialia Oralevs originally from Latvia – and they married quietly a couple of years later before the end of the war.

After learning to speak Russian, Julius presented himself in London to the Royal British Navy, passed an oral Russian test and worked as an interpreter under the rank of Sub-Lieutenant stationed in Murmansk7 and Archangel until the end of the war.

While in Russia, Julius would sketch scenes from memory in the privacy of his room at night and only after his 30-year oath of secrecy expired did he show them to the Canadian War Museum8. They purchased 90 of these drawings and The British War Artists Collection acquired several as well.

After the war, Julius and Lialia returned permanently to Canada. Julius quickly earned a degree at age 34 which enabled him to teach art and support his wife and four sons while continuing to pursue his passion as a graphic artist and wood engraver. Julius taught art in many of the top schools in Toronto – the Western Technical School, Artists’ Workshop, Ryerson Polytechnic Institute, Ontario College of Art, and at Central Technical School.

Although I never met Julius, I understand that they made quite the impressive pair with Julius at 6 feet 4 inches towering over five foot Lialia. Not surprisingly, “Julius seemed to develop a slight lilt to the left in later years, probably because he would put is left hand on Lialia’s shoulder and lean to hear or speak to her.” This 1985 photo taken during a trip to Egypt illustrates this charming pose.

Julius and Lialia – 1985 (courtesy of Lorne Griffith)

On the other postcard that he sent to my Aunt Mary in 1997, he wrote “This card was the one used for the invitation for an exhibition here, which opened in April and is almost over. We had a good opening – some buyers and some artist colleagues, and other people seemed to like the pictures.”

” The Road from Relessey Church”

Although I don’t have any of Julius’ original paintings, his two picture postcards with his personal handwritten messages are real treasures to me.

NOTE:

Julius’ work is displayed in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian War Museum, Imperial War Museum (London), Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto City Archives, Toronto Public Library, Art Gallery of Hamilton, McMaster University (Hamilton), Carleton University (Ottawa), Glenbow Museum (Calgary), Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (British Columbia), and numerous corporate and private collections.

1https://www.rct.uk/collection/926180/the-empty-farmhouse (as referenced 2023-06-02)

2https://wiki2.org/en/Group_of_Seven_(artists) (as referenced 2023-06-02)

3https://www.fecklesscollection.ca/robert-inverarity/ (as referenced 2023-06-02)

4https://wiki2.org/en/Slade_School_of_Fine_Art (as referenced 2023-06-02)

5https://wiki2.org/en/Noel_Rooke (as referenced 2023-06-02)

6https://wiki2.org/en/Royal_College_of_Art (as referenced 2023-06-02)

7https://wiki2.org/en/Arctic_convoys_of_World_War_II (as referenced 2023-06-02)

8https://www.warmuseum.ca/collections/?type=all&q1=all%3A%3A_contains%3A%3Ajulius%20griffith%20art&sort=title&order=asc&view=grid&size=24&page=1 (Julius Griffith’s 24 paintings

– as referenced 2023-06-02)

England, Genealogy, Quebec

A Montreal Stockbroker…and much more

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Montreal, Quebec, was booming early in the 20th century just before World War I (1914-1919).

During this time, immigration surged setting new records and the population of Montreal grew to half a million people. Skilled workers from England found employment in the city’s factories and European immigrants, especially Jews fleeing persecution, made up the biggest group. Local people were also migrating from rural areas attracted by the city’s remarkable economic growth and the available opportunities.

Montreal offered all these people hope of a better life.

Canada’s first stock exchange, The Montreal Stock Exchange founded in 1832, grew to prestigious levels during this time of great expansion. In 1910, the total number of trades was more than double that of The Toronto Stock Exchange. This growth led to the merger of several small companies creating larger corporations which in turn traded their shares1 on the Exchange.

Montreal_Stock_Exchange_1903
The Montreal Stock Exchange 1903

My great grandfather, Robert Lindsay (1855-1931), was a stockbroker during this exciting and prosperous period of Montreal history. Robert was the son of the successful banker, Robert A. Lindsay (Bank of Montreal), as well as the nephew of the prominent politician, William Burns Lindsay. Wisely, he left banking and politics to his elders and forged his own career in finance.

Robert Lindsay
Robert Lindsay – Montreal Stock Broker 1881

Robert was born in Montreal in 1855, the oldest of four children, three boys plus a girl who died in infancy. His mother, Henrietta Dyde, passed away in 1864, ten weeks after her baby daughter died. Robert was only nine years old at the time. His father remarried two years later and he and his new wife, Charlotte Anne Vennor, had six more children.

Mary Heloise Bagg, one of the daughters of Stanley Clark Bagg and Catherine Mitcheson, became his bride in 1881. The Baggs, a prominent Montreal family with real estate interests, welcomed their first stockbroker into the family.

Robert and Mary Heloise Wedding day
Mr and Mrs Robert Lindsay -1881

Robert retired in 1906 from his long and successful career as a stockbroker at the age of 51. In 1914, during one of his periodic trips to England, he arrived just days before the outbreak of WW1. His son, Stanley (1889-1963), had enlisted as a lieutenant2 with the Royal Highlanders of Canada so Robert decided to take up residence with the rest of his family.

He joined forces with Canadian philanthropist Lady Drummond and Lady Perley as founders of the first of The King George and Queen Mary Maple Leaf Clubs3. Several sizeable London homes were donated and refurbished to provide for the welfare of Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) soldiers on leave from the front. The safe well organized environment provided lodgings, meals, recreational activities, up-to-date military information and even savings accounts for the soldiers thus preventing drinking, idleness and any opportunity to pursue “morally questionable activities”. London became their “home away from home” where they could recover from trench life, boost their morale and heal physically and mentally before returning to the front.

Three years later, in 1917, Robert’s ill health led to his withdrawal as the Treasurer-Secretary and his return home to Montreal. “The committee and workers of “The Maple Leaf Clubs” greatly regretted his departure… As a souvenir of his services, they presented him with a massive silver cigar box…”4

Robert’s son became “Captain” Stanley Lindsay and survived the Second Battle of Ypres (and the first German gas attack). Eventually he recovered his health and also returned home to Montreal in 1919.

Stanley Bagg Lindsay
Captain Stanley Lindsay 13th Battalion Royal Highlanders of Canada

Once home again, Robert and his wife committed their lives to helping others. He was a member of the Anglican Church, a life governor on the board of three main hospitals as well as the Church Home (for the elderly) and a member of The Mount Royal Club.

One such commitment catered to his great interest in art. Robert had been active in the Art Association of Montreal (now the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) since his retirement from the financial world. He was honorary president at the time of his death and had previously held executive positions for many years.

His obituary remembered him as “a kindly man of retiring nature… a supporter of many charity campaigns, and who preferred to remain anonymous in all his undertakings”5.

Edited by author 2020-07-13

1“Shares are units of ownership interest in a corporation or financial asset that provide equal distribution in any profits, if any are declared, in the form of a dividend”. Www.Investopedia.com as seen 2020-07-13

2Stanley B. Lindsay worked his way up to Captain with the 13th Battalion of the Royal Highlanders of Canada

4Maple Leaf Clubs Lose Treasurer, Mr. Robt Lindsay Back From England After Four Years’ Absence – Friend of Soldiers – Newspaper article -August 7, 1917.

5Robert Lindsay is claimed by death in his 77th year, Newspaper Obituary, June 5, 1931.