Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

MR. SMITH

Date

1989

Materials

WATERCOLOUR ON PAPER

No. Pieces

1

Height

38

Length

56.3

Description

PAINTING DEPICTS A GARDEN SCENE. IN THE FOREGROUND THERE IS A PERSON STANDING AT A FENCE GATE WHICH READS "MAPLE GARDENS". TO THE LEFT OF THE GATE, TWO PEOPLE WORKING IN THE GARDEN. THE GARDEN IS FILLED WITH A VARIETY OF FLOWERS. THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE GATE DEPICTS A MAN RACKING LEAVES, SOME FLOWERS AND A FEW TREES. THE BACKGROUND FEATURES A BRICK HOUSE WITH A GRN ROOF. WORK IS TITLED, SIGNED AND DATED.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

IRENE MCCAUGHERTY'S FOLK ART WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS EXPLORE SOUTHERN ALBERTA’S CULTURAL NARRATIVE AND TELL THE STORY OF WHAT THE PRAIRIE PEOPLE’S LIFE WAS LIKE DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES. SHE DEPICTED IN HER PAINTINGS THE HISTORICAL PAST OF SOUTHERN ALBERTA AND EXAMPLES OF THE DRESS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE. EARLY IN HER CAREER AS AN ARTIST, MCCAUGHERTY PAINTED FLOWERS, WHICH INDICATED AN EARLY INFLUENCE OF FELLOW FORT MACLEOD ARTIST ANNORA BROWN. THIS WAS A TIME WHEN SHE WORKED IN OIL AS WELL AS THE MEDIUM OF WATERCOLOR. IRENE MCCAUGHERTY WAS AN ARTIST, POET, AND WRITER. SHE WAS BORN IN HARDIEVILLE ON NOVEMBER 27, 1914. SHE LIVED IN FORT MACLEOD, ALBERTA MOST OF HER LIFE. IT WAS THERE THAT MCCAUGHERTY PAINTED AND WROTE ABOUT SOUTHERN ALBERTA’S PIONEER DAYS. SHE PUBLISHED THREE BOOKS WITH HER POETRY, STORIES, AND PAINTINGS THAT ILLUSTRATE LETHBRIDGE’S PAST THROUGH HER MEMORIES. MANY RURAL NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED HER WRITING REGULARLY. IN 1994 SHE WAS WELCOMED AS A HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ALBERTA SOCIETY OF ARTISTS. IN 1995, THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE PRESENTED MCCAUGHERTY WITH AN HONORARY DOCTOR OF LAWS DEGREE FOR HER WORK TO PRESERVE THE HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ALBERTA. SHE WORKED WITH ALL THREE ARTS FROM 1950 UNTIL THE END OF HER LIFE, IN 1996. *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS. SHE FOUND FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTIST IN THE PERMANENT FILE - SEE RECORD P20060016036.

Catalogue Number

P20060016023

Acquisition Date

2006-08

Collection

Museum

Less detail