Edith Quin (née Schreiber), circa 1880 by Charlotte Mount Brock Schreiber

Provenance:
Herbert Harrie Schreiber, Toronto
By descent to Mrs. Cecil Swanson (Enid Maye Schreiber), Calgary
By descent to Mrs. Cecil deLisle Parke, Calgary
Acquired by the present Private Collection, 1985

Exhibited:
“Charlotte M. Schreiber: A Retrospective”, Erindale Campus Art Gallery, University of Toronto, 16 September‒27 October 1985, no. 31 “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. 24

Literature:
Margaret Fallis, “Charlotte Schreiber, R.C.A. 1834‒1922” (MA Thesis Research Paper, Carleton University, Ottawa, 1985), reproduced, unpaginated
Dennis Reid, “Collector's Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection”, Toronto, 1988, no. 24, page 34, reproduced page 34 as “Portrait of Edith Quinn (née Schreiber)”, circa 1890
A.K. Prakash, “Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women Artists”, Richmond Hill, 2008, page 40, reproduced page 41 as “Portrait of Edith Quinn (née Schreiber)”, circa 1890

Charlotte Schreiber became well known in Toronto art circles for her large paintings of figures illustrating historical and literary figures, frequently accompanied by long citations from literary texts. However, her production also included portraits, as well as animal studies and genre paintings. Schreiber never pursued a professional career in portraiture and thus was spared the demands of clients and the need to work from photographs. Yet she was a talented portrait painter, her best subjects being family members, mostly women. The subjects were frequently painted as half figures and seated, as in this portrait of the artist’s stepdaughter, Edith Harriet Quin (née Schreiber) (1857‒1939). Edith is also said to be depicted in Schreiber’s major canvas, “Don’t Be Afraid” (see lot 131) and in the wonderful study known as “Edith Schreiber with her Sleigh” where she is dressed in a Red River coat in a snowy landscape.

Edith Schreiber married William Quin (1855‒ before 1901) on 9 December 1880 when she was twenty‒three. This may have been the occasion for the painting of this portrait. Though previously dated circa 1890, no rationale for such a dating has been published. She appears to be somewhat younger than the thirty‒three years she would have been in 1890. She is depicted in a black dress with a sheer white shawl, ruffled collars at her wrists and neck and a pearl necklace. It is a Christmas portrait as she arranges holly in in a vase and wears holly on her chiffon shawl. The red and greens of the foliage and baize over the table beautifully respond to the colors of the shawl on the back of the chair. The light illuminates her lovely face that is silhouetted against the wall and framed by the chair back and curtain. All attention is focused on her quiet act of contemplation. It is an intimate study, not melancholy, but thoughtful, full of restrained emotion and evokes the affection between the artist and her step‒daughter.

We extend our thanks to Charles Hill, Canadian art historian, former Curator of Canadian Art at the National Gallery of Canada and author of “The Group of Seven‒Art for a Nation”, for his assistance in researching this artwork and for contributing the preceding essay.