Painting: Edith Hester McDonald-Brown
Painting
Image
Video
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Activities
LOOK
Look closely at McDonald-Brown’s landscape. This painting is proof that Black Canadians were making art in the 19th century. List some words or phrases you might use to describe the painting. Think of the brushstrokes used and what you see in the foreground, midground and background.
THINK
Think about how McDonald-Brown learned to paint in this “classical” way. How do you think she educated herself in this genre?
DO
Have you ever tried to draw a landscape? Use materials that you have access to to try to draw or paint your own picture in McDonald-Brown’s style.
Details
Date circa 1906
Materials - Oil Paint
- Canvas
Historical Context
Choose one of the three levels below to match your needs.
- This is a landscape painting by Edith Hester McDonald-Brown, who is believed to be the first recorded Black female painter in the history of Canadian art.
- McDonald-Brown was “rediscovered” as a result of curator David Woods’s determination to prove that Black Canadians were creating art in Nova Scotia in the early 1900s.
- She was born in 1880 and lived most of her life in Africville, on the outskirts of Halifax, but is believed to have attended art school while living for a time in Montréal.
This is a landscape painting by Edith Hester McDonald-Brown, who is believed to be the first recorded Black female painter in the history of Canadian art.
McDonald-Brown, known for painted landscapes and pastoral scenes, was “rediscovered” as a result of curator David Woods’s determination to prove that Black Canadians were creating art in Nova Scotia in the early 1900s.
McDonald-Brown was born in 1880 and lived most of her life in Africville, a Black community on the outskirts of Halifax.
She is believed to have attended art school in Montréal before returning home to Africville.
This is a landscape painting by Edith Hester McDonald-Brown, who is believed to be the first recorded Black female painter in the history of Canadian art.
McDonald-Brown, known for painted landscapes and pastoral scenes, was “rediscovered” as a result of curator David Woods’s determination to prove that Black Canadians were creating art in Nova Scotia in the early 1900s. The painting, one of only four by McDonald-Brown that survived, was part of the 1998 exhibition In This Place: Black Art in Nova Scotia.
McDonald-Brown was born in 1880 and lived most of her life in Africville, a Black community on the outskirts of Halifax that was neglected by the city and destroyed in the 1960s as part of an “urban renewal” plan. She is believed to have attended art school in Montréal before returning home to Africville.
- This is a landscape painting by Edith Hester McDonald-Brown, who is believed to be the first recorded Black female painter in the history of Canadian art.
- McDonald-Brown was “rediscovered” as a result of curator David Woods’s determination to prove that Black Canadians were creating art in Nova Scotia in the early 1900s.
- She was born in 1880 and lived most of her life in Africville, on the outskirts of Halifax, but is believed to have attended art school while living for a time in Montréal.
This is a landscape painting by Edith Hester McDonald-Brown, who is believed to be the first recorded Black female painter in the history of Canadian art.
McDonald-Brown, known for painted landscapes and pastoral scenes, was “rediscovered” as a result of curator David Woods’s determination to prove that Black Canadians were creating art in Nova Scotia in the early 1900s.
McDonald-Brown was born in 1880 and lived most of her life in Africville, a Black community on the outskirts of Halifax.
She is believed to have attended art school in Montréal before returning home to Africville.
This is a landscape painting by Edith Hester McDonald-Brown, who is believed to be the first recorded Black female painter in the history of Canadian art.
McDonald-Brown, known for painted landscapes and pastoral scenes, was “rediscovered” as a result of curator David Woods’s determination to prove that Black Canadians were creating art in Nova Scotia in the early 1900s. The painting, one of only four by McDonald-Brown that survived, was part of the 1998 exhibition In This Place: Black Art in Nova Scotia.
McDonald-Brown was born in 1880 and lived most of her life in Africville, a Black community on the outskirts of Halifax that was neglected by the city and destroyed in the 1960s as part of an “urban renewal” plan. She is believed to have attended art school in Montréal before returning home to Africville.
Summary
- This is a landscape painting by Edith Hester McDonald-Brown, who is believed to be the first recorded Black female painter in the history of Canadian art.
- McDonald-Brown was “rediscovered” as a result of curator David Woods’s determination to prove that Black Canadians were creating art in Nova Scotia in the early 1900s.
- She was born in 1880 and lived most of her life in Africville, on the outskirts of Halifax, but is believed to have attended art school while living for a time in Montréal.
Essential
This is a landscape painting by Edith Hester McDonald-Brown, who is believed to be the first recorded Black female painter in the history of Canadian art.
McDonald-Brown, known for painted landscapes and pastoral scenes, was “rediscovered” as a result of curator David Woods’s determination to prove that Black Canadians were creating art in Nova Scotia in the early 1900s.
McDonald-Brown was born in 1880 and lived most of her life in Africville, a Black community on the outskirts of Halifax.
She is believed to have attended art school in Montréal before returning home to Africville.
In-Depth
This is a landscape painting by Edith Hester McDonald-Brown, who is believed to be the first recorded Black female painter in the history of Canadian art.
McDonald-Brown, known for painted landscapes and pastoral scenes, was “rediscovered” as a result of curator David Woods’s determination to prove that Black Canadians were creating art in Nova Scotia in the early 1900s. The painting, one of only four by McDonald-Brown that survived, was part of the 1998 exhibition In This Place: Black Art in Nova Scotia.
McDonald-Brown was born in 1880 and lived most of her life in Africville, a Black community on the outskirts of Halifax that was neglected by the city and destroyed in the 1960s as part of an “urban renewal” plan. She is believed to have attended art school in Montréal before returning home to Africville.