Philip Surrey | |
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 | |
| Born | October 10, 1910 |
| Died | April 24, 1990 (aged 79) |
| Known for | Figurative Art |
| Movement | Eastern Group of Painters, Contemporary Arts Society |
| Spouse | Margaret Day (m. 1939) |
| Awards | Order of Canada (1982), Honorary Doctorate (1981), Centennial Medal (1967) |
| Elected | Royal Canadian Academy of Arts |
Philip Surrey CM RCA LL. D. (1910-1990) was a Canadian artist known for his figurative scenes of Montreal. A founding member of the Contemporary Arts Society, and Montreal Men's Press Club (now Montreal Press Club), Surrey was part of Montreal's cultural elite during the late 1930s and 1940s.[1][2] In recognition of his artistic accomplishment he was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, awarded a Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967 and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1982.[1]
A figurative expressionist, Surrey was concerned with composition and design.[3] Painting scenes of city life, his early work featured solitary figures on street corners and in cafes or taverns during the Great Depression.[1] His work in the 1940s and 1950s is characterized by "their sombre colours, their mysterious shadows, their eeriness, and the loneliness and secrecy of their subjects."[4] From the 1960s on, his work became more stylized and luminous with young women or gregarious urban dwellers as subjects.[1] Throughout his career, Surrey worked in watercolours, oils, ink, charcoal as well as lithography, and his oeuvre also includes Canadian landscapes.[2]
- ^ a b c d "Philip Surrey." National Gallery of Canada. Web.
- ^ a b "Philip Henry Howard Surrey." AskART. Web.
- ^ Daigneault, Gilles. "L’Expressionnisme de Philip Surrey." Vie des Arts, 24:96, Autumn 1979. p69. Web. English Translation.
- ^ Rigelhof, T.F. "Electric Light and the Light of the Sky." Philip Surrey Retrospective Exhibition. Montreal: Alan Klinkhoff Gallery. 2004. Web.