Kathleen Munn
(1887–)
(–1974)
Kathleen Munn
1887–1974
Kathleen Munn (1887–1974) was one of the first artists in Canada to embrace abstraction. She was born in Toronto, studied in New York, travelled to Europe, and exhibited with the Group of Seven. During the 1920s, Munn was part of a community of artists and collectors who shaped Canadian art.
From 1904 to 1907, Munn took art classes in Toronto at the Westbourne School. She began to exhibit with the Ontario Society of Artists, the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and the Canadian National Exhibition in 1909. Munn sought inspiration beyond the conservative climate in Toronto. In the 1920s, she travelled to New York and Europe to absorb international modern art movements. She read widely and attended lectures on a variety of topics: the history of art and design, art theory, literature, philosophy, mythology, music, and more. Munn was inspired by ancient Greek sculptures, Michelangelo and El Greco, as much as by Matisse, Picasso, and Cezanne.
Munn is known for reimaging conventional subjects into powerful new expressions, as she combined the traditions of European art with modern art studies in New York. She has even applied mathematics theories and geometry to create dynamic symmetry and proportion in her drawings of the human figure. Her notable works include the “Passion Series” from 1928 to 1939, where Munn employed bold use of colour, advanced abstracts, and black ink and graphite in her drawings to devise unique techniques and views in space. At the end of 1939, she stopped making art due to family obligations and an unresponsive art public in Toronto.
Munn is recognized today as a pioneer figure of modern art in Canada. Her work is included in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada.