Jess (1950) by Frederick Horsman Varley

Provenance:
Collection of the Artist
Mrs. H.A. Dyde, Edmonton
Morris Gallery, Toronto, by 1967
Private Collection, Kingston
Christopher Varley, Toronto
Acquired by the present Private Collection, February 1987

Exhibited:
“F.H. Varley Paintings 1915‒1954”, Art Gallery of Toronto; travelling to National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Winnipeg Art Gallery; Vancouver Art Gallery, 16 October 1954‒24 April 1955, no. 37
“F.H. Varley Retrospective”, Willistead Art Gallery, Windsor, Ontario, 12 April‒17 May 1964, no. 65
“Canadian Classics from Private Collections”, Morris Gallery, Toronto, 1967‒68, no. 1
“F.H. Varley a Centennial Exhibition/une exposition centenaire”, Edmonton Art Gallery; travelling to Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 16 October 1981‒13 November 1982, no. 197
“Collector’s Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection”, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; travelling to Musée du Québec, Quebec City; Vancouver Art Gallery; Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, 14 May 1988‒7 May 1989, no. 77

Literature:
Barker Fairley, ‘F.H. Varley’, in Robert L. McDougall, ed., “Our Living Tradition: Second and Third Series”, Toronto, 1959, page 163
“Canadian Classics from Private Collections”, Morris Gallery, Toronto, 1967, reproduced
Christopher Varley, “F.H. Varley”, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1979, page 27, plate 61, reproduced page 95
Christopher Varley, “F.H. Varley a Centennial Exhibition/une exposition centenaire”, Edmonton Art Gallery, 1981, no. 197, reproduced page 169
Dennis Reid, “Collector’s Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection”, Toronto, 1988, no. 77, page 70, reproduced page 71
Katerina Atanassova, “F.H. Varley: Portraits into the Light”, Toronto, 2007, plate 53, no. 74, reproduced page 97 and on cover

Painter, scholar, critic, and major supporter of the Group of Seven Barker Fairley believed that Frederick Horsman (F.H.) Varley should be held “up as an example today of what art in Canada can do and must continue to do.” Fairley saw in Varley an intense humanism that characterizes his best work, particularly his portraits.

After moving to Vancouver in 1926 to teach at the newly established Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts, Varley pursued portraiture with dedication and fervor; his portraits of his lover Vera Weatherbie and other women from this period are some of the highlights from his career. Vera was, as Varley stated, “...the greatest single influence in my life. Without knowing it she made me see color in new lights.” During this period, the artist immersed himself in mysticism and creative spirituality and began to experiment in the use of symbolic colour to express his sitters’ auras or spiritual values. He saw Vera as a “green person,” another Vancouver portrait of Norma Parks is rendered in hues of pink.

Many Canadians continue to associate Varley with the Group of Seven and their landscape painting as a means to create a national art movement; however, critics have long argued that Varley’s best works are his portraits and figure studies, primarily of women. The word portrait comes from the Latin “portrahere” meaning to drag out, reveal, and expose. Varley has done just that with his striking portrait of Jess Crosby. Varley elicits the sitter’s spirit and lifeforce in his handling of her face and there is a sense that the artist and model were familiar with one another. This painting was singled out by Curator Katerina Atanassova for the cover of her catalogue, “F.H. Varley: Portraits into the Light”, which accompanied a major touring exhibition of the artist’s portraits across Canada in 2007 and 2008.

“Jess” was painted after Varley had moved back to Toronto in 1944. Nearing seventy and teaching summer school in 1948 and 1949 in Homer Watson’s old home in Doon, Ontario south of Kitchener, Varley painted and sketched Jess in numerous works as he travelled between Doon and Toronto. The sitter was Varley’s muse and companion from 1946 to 1951; the two shared a love of art, music, books, and nature. In this portrait from 1950, Jess is portrayed in a quarter‒length bust portrait, turned just slightly away from the viewer. She is surrounded by a gold and orange aura, her hair tied back from her face, and an intense gaze that holds that of the viewer. Her shoulders and torso are wrapped in a loosely draped piece of cloth rendered in pastel greens, pink, purples reminiscent of Monet’s palette with orange accents. Jess’s strong composure, forceful eye contact and the darker hues of her face capture the viewer’s attention and stand in contrast to the bright light pink and white hues of her bare upper chest. Upon closer examination Varley’s muse has the appearance of a nude model which gives the work a subtle sensual and erotic quality. Katerina Atanassova describes the work as “a tender and enchanting portrayal of the subject, and undoubtedly one of Varley’s best works of the period. This image, with its serene atmosphere, testifies to the elegance of the painter’s style in the smooth, almost enamelled modelling of her face and clothing.”

We extend our thanks to Devon Smither for contributing the preceding essay. Devon’s research focuses on gender, women artists, and Canadian art history. She has recently published on the self‒ portraits of artist Pegi Nicol MacLeod and is preparing a monograph on MacLeod for the Art Canada Institute. She is Associate Professor of Art History/Museum Studies at the University of Lethbridge.