Painters Eleven
Painters Eleven was a pivotal collective of abstract artists formed in 1953 in the Toronto area, responding to a sense of isolation felt by many artists in postwar Canada. The group was brought together primarily by William Ronald, who organized an exhibition called "Abstracts at Home" that showcased their work. Initially composed of seven members, including notable artists like Jack Bush and Oscar Cahen, the collective was characterized by its informal and diverse nature, with no single leader or unified philosophy. Instead, they shared a collective discontent with the conservative art scene in Toronto and sought to promote the more liberating style of abstraction.
Through a series of exhibitions, including significant shows at the Roberts Gallery and the Riverside Museum in New York, Painters Eleven played a crucial role in advancing abstract art in Canada. Despite setbacks, including the tragic death of Cahen and shifts within the group, they remained active until 1960, when they decided to disband after achieving their goals. Their contributions significantly impacted the Canadian art landscape, establishing a legacy that influenced future artists and helped elevate Canadian art on the international stage. The ongoing recognition of their work is preserved at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, Ontario.
Painters Eleven
Identification Group of Canadian abstract painters
Date Active from 1953 to 1960
The Painters Eleven played a major role in developing and stimulating awareness of abstract art in Canada during the 1950’s.
Amid the growing prosperity and rapid change of postwar Canada, many artists felt a sense of isolation and constraint. Abstraction, so predominant in American and European artwork, had appeared in various isolated exhibitions in Toronto but was regarded only marginally by influential art institutions such as the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and the Ontario Society of Artists.
Beginnings
Toronto-area artists interested in the liberating style of abstraction formed Painters Eleven in 1953. William Ronald was instrumental in bringing seven of the members together in Abstracts at Home, an exhibition at Simpson’s department store. Ronald’s work appeared alongside paintings by Jack Bush, Oscar Cahen, Tom Hodgson, Alexandra Luke, Ray Mead, and Kazuo Nakamura. Pleased with the show, the artists met at Luke’s lakeside studio to discuss future exhibits. They also invited Hortense Gordon, Jock Macdonald, Harold Town, and Walter Yarwood to join them.
Painters Eleven was a lively and informal group. Town suggested that they adopt the generic name of “Painters Eleven” in reference to the number of members. The new group had neither pretense of a common philosophy nor a group leader. The members’ individual styles were as diverse as their backgrounds and experience. Nevertheless, they were united by their collective dissatisfaction with the conservatism of Toronto’s art world and their desire to paint in the more spontaneous, less restrictive style of abstraction. They shared stylistic commonalities of boldness, energy, and a sense of experimentation. They also shared the practical purpose of developing opportunities to exhibit and promote abstract art.
Exhibitions
Although relatively unstructured, the group was the Toronto area’s first organization dedicated to abstract and nonobjective painting. Its members had a productive exhibition schedule. In 1954, Bush secured Toronto’s Roberts Gallery for their first exhibition. They exhibited there periodically over the next two years. In 1956, through Ronald’s contacts, they were invited to show with the American Abstract Artists at New York’s Riverside Museum, where they were highly acclaimed. In addition to a variety of individual exhibits, the group also presented work at the University of Toronto’s Hart House and the Park Gallery. In 1958 and 1959, the National Gallery of Canada circulated a Painters Eleven exhibition.
The group suffered several setbacks. In 1956, Cahen died in a car accident. The following year Ronald resigned, and Mead moved to Montreal. With the opening of new contemporary art galleries in Toronto, there was less need for collaboration. In 1960, the remaining members met at Hodgson’s studio and, feeling that they had attained their original goals, decided to disband. An overview of the group’s work remains at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, Ontario.
Impact
With their experiments in abstraction, Painters Eleven emerged during the 1950’s as one of the first avant-garde art groups in Canada. Their impact on subsequent artists, museums, galleries, and collectors revolutionized the Toronto art world and influenced the development of modernist art in Canada. Due in part to the efforts of this group, Canadian art came to be viewed as a force in the larger North American and international art worlds.
Bibliography
Leclerc, Dennis. The Crisis of Abstraction in Canada: The 1950’s. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1992. Published to accompany the 1992-1994 exhibition of the same title, this work underscores the 1950’s as a transitional time in Canadian art.
Murray, Joan. Canadian Art in the Twentieth Century. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1999. Concentrates on the variety and innovation of Canadian art, with emphasis on cultural context.
Ord, Douglas. The National Gallery of Canada: Ideas, Art, Architecture. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003. Explores the gallery’s historical development and discusses public acceptance of avant-garde art.