Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

SELF- PORTRAIT

Date

1978

Materials

COTTON, WOOD

No. Pieces

1

Length

76.5

Width

67

Description

SELF-PORTRAIT OIL PAINTING OF WOMAN WITH BROWN HAIR, WEARING A WHITE BLOUSE AND WHO IS CROSSING HER ARMS. UNBLEACHED COTTON CANVAS IS NAILED ONTO WOOD FRAME, BUT DOES NOT HAVE A FRAME AROUND PAINTING. HAND WRITTEN IN PENCIL ON THE BACK IS "SELF-PORTRAIT '78 CECILE MCCLEARY", AND ON THE FRAME "CECILE".

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

ITEM PAINTED AND DONATED BY CECILE MCCLEARY, FORMER CURATOR- COORDINATOR OF SIR ALEXANDER GALT MUSEUM, WHO RETIRED IN 1997. *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS. THE FOLLOWING BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE PORTRAIT'S SUBJECT AND ARTIST, CECILE MCCLEARY, WAS DEVELOPED WITH INFORMATION FROM AN ARTICLE IN THE SEPTEMBER 16, 1987 ISSUE OF THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD, AND THE MEMORIES OF COLLECTIONS TECH KEVIN MACLEAN. CECILE MCCLEARY IS THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF ALBERTA PIONEERS, AND HAS LIVED HER WHOLE LIFE ON THE PRAIRIES. SHE GRADUATED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE WITH A DEGREE IN ART HISTORY, AND WORKED AS A REGISTERED NURSE BEFORE WORKING AS THE PUBLIC PROGRAMS CO-ORDINATOR AT THE LETHBRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY IN 1981. IN 1987 MCCLEARY BECAME THE CO-ORDINATOR/CURATOR OF THE GALT MUSEUM WHERE SHE WORKED UNTIL HER RETIREMENT IN 1997. SHE HAS BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH THE NIKKA YUKO JAPANESE GARDEN SOCIETY AND THE LETHBRIDGE THERAPEUTIC RIDING ASSOCIATION. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR HARDCOPY OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLE. *UPDATE* IN 2017 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT RUTHANN LABLANCE CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF CLOTHING, INCLUDING SEVERAL CLOTHING ITEMS DONATED BY CECILE MCCLEARY. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COMES FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DONOR, CECILE MCCLEARY AND HER HUSBAND CHARLES MCCLEARY. CECILE HAD THE FOLLOWING TO SAY: “THIS IS ME; IT’S A SELF-PORTRAIT. MY HUSBAND DOESN’T RECOGNIZE ME.” CHARLES INTERJECTED TO SAY: “WELL, YOU LOOK PRETTY SCOWLY.” CECILE CONTINUED: “I KNOW YOU DIDN’T LIKE IT BECAUSE I LOOK SO SEVERE. IT WAS DELIBERATE. ANYWAY, AS A JOKE, WHEN I RETIRED IN ’97, AND THE PERSON WHO TOOK OVER FROM ME WAS SCOTT SWEETMAN, I GAVE IT TO HIM … I GAVE IT AS A JOKE AND SAID ‘HERE, THIS IS TO HANG IN YOUR OFFICE, BECAUSE I’M GOING TO HAUNT YOU AND ENSURE YOU DO THE JOB PROPERLY.’ AND HE ACQUISITIONED IT INTO THE COLLECTION … THAT WAS NOT MY INTENTION, TO HAVE A PAINTING OF ME IN THE COLLECTION … IT WAS A STUDENT WORK. I LOOKED IN THE MIRROR AND DELIBERATELY DID THAT.” SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR A COPY OF THE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT.

Catalogue Number

P19970025000

Acquisition Date

1997-02

Collection

Museum

Less detail