Highland Games, Fredericton

Roberts Gallery, Toronto The Collection of TC Energy, Toronto

Laura Brandon quoted in Allison Lawler, “Molly Lamb Bobak was first Canadian Woman Sent Overseas as War Artist,” The Globe and Mail, [online], March 14, 2014 Michelle Gewurtz, Molly Lamb Bobak: Life & Work [online publication], Art Canada Institute, Toronto, 2018, pages 63-65

A trailblazer for women in the arts in Canada, Bobak was an official war artist during the Second World War and was stationed in England. She often gravitated towards scenes of crowds as she was inspired by the victory parades of the Allied forces at the end of the war. Bobak returned to Canada and began teaching at the University of New Brunswick in the fall of 1960. She also organized classes throughout the province and on television, becoming a well-known and inspiring instructor. She and her husband Bruno became the centre of Fredericton’s art scene, with strong ties to artists in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Bobak received several commissions and grew to be known for her paintings of official gatherings at the Legislature, City Hall, and other civic and public events in Fredericton and across the Maritimes. The move to Fredericton supplied Bobak with new subject matter, and her work began to reflect a celebratory attitude towards public events and crowd scenes. “I think that it is an interest I have had ever since I was a kid,” she said. “I simply love gatherings, mingling... It’s like little ants crawling, the sort of insignificance and yet the beauty of people all getting together.” Her paintings depict people gathered in community spaces, often waving flags, cheering on sports teams in parades or commencement ceremonies. As her career progressed, she became increasingly concerned with movement and rhythm in her scenes of parades and sporting events, such as Highland Games, Fredericton. The large oil painting shows a parade of people in traditional Scottish dress, circulating through the streets during the Highland Games festival to celebrate the Scottish culture and heritage of New Brunswick. The energy and excitement of the scene is palpable; the viewer can almost hear the bagpipes being played as the band marches through the town. Scenes of modern urban life such as “Highland Games, Fredericton”, are considered to be Molly Bobak’s greatest artistic accomplishments, for they “achieve a careful balance of form, colour, and space, creating a clear, rationalized vision of moving scenes that are intentionally devoid of narrative.”