Edith Grace Coombs (1890- 1986)
About the Artist:
Born in Hamilton in 1890, Edith Grace Coombs was greatly influenced by the Group of Seven, both personally and artistically. She was an associate of both Alfred Casson and J.E.H. MacDonald, often exhibiting her work alongside theirs. In 1913 she began her studies at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and by 1921 she had become an associate instructor. In 1930 she became a full time instructor at the College working closely with her friend MacDonald, who was by this time principal of the school.
Stuart MacCuaig
Climbing the Cold White Peaks: A survey of artists in and from Hamilton 1910 -1950
About the Painting:
oil on masonite
Edith Grace Coombs came to artistic maturity at a time when the Group of Seven was a dominant force in the arts, their approach to the landscape a considerable influence on a generation of painters. While Coombs showed great skill as a painter of floral subjects and lyrical abstract compositions, many of her canvases show the impact of the Group’s aesthetic Fire Swept, in its ambitious approach, strong design and bold colouration applied in full sweeping strokes, speaks directly of this tradition.
Virtual Museum Canada
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