Harriet Mary Ford

Harriet Mary Ford or simply Harriet Ford (1859 – 31 October 1938) was a Canadian artist who worked as a painter, muralist and jeweller. She has been described as epitomizing "the Canadian New Woman". Ford belonged to a number of societies and organizations and founded the Society of Mural Decorators in 1894.

Early life Ford was born in Brockville, Canada West in 1859. After being orphaned at the age of ten, Ford was educated at a private Anglican school for girls, the Bishop Strachan School, from 1870 to 1878.

Education and travels Ford studied at the Central Ontario School of Art in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the St John's Wood Art School, and the Royal Academy in London, England. In France, she studied at the Académie Colarossi in Paris and with Luc-Olivier Merson and Joseph Blanc. and Sydney Strickland Tully in Newlyn and Bovingdon Green, Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Although she frequented Newlyn and many other parts of England, Ford preferred passing her time in St. Ives. Ford began to express new ideas and attitudes towards art after her many travels throughout Europe, thus prompting critics to brand her as "dangerous."

Ford worked full-time as a writer, lecturer and artist. She was unmarried, professionally focused and financially independent, and has been described as epitomizing "the Canadian New Woman". In J. Russell Harper's Painting in Canada: A History, he said that Ford stated that she did not believe that the depiction of Canadian scenes was essential for participation in the Canadian school of art. the Art Gallery of Ontario

In 1896, Ford won a competition for the design of a horse show poster, beating out several notable Montreal artists. The work, printed in red, yellow, blue, and black, was later shown in an art exhibition in Montreal, where it reportedly was criticized for its break from formalist traditions. However, many of these criticisms acknowledged how Ford intentionally disregarded these conventions about colour and perspective, and that it was not due to a lack of skill or formal training.

Muralist Ford's work in house decoration included furniture, screens, and murals, but few examples of this work remain. Ford was interested in murals as early as 1895, when she spoke about the subject during a lecture in Toronto.

Social and academic presence In the late 1890s, Ford delivered several lectures based on her studies in Italy. These lectures were well-attended, necessitating on one occasion the relocation to a larger room in order to seat all those attending. Ford’s lectures were based on her studies of early Renaissance art and artists, a subject on which she was considered an authority. Ford referred to other academics in her lectures, including art historian John Ruskin, but also discussed her own research.

Ford also is quoted above the state of Canadian art in publications, such as J. Russell Harper's Painting in Canada: A History. In this publication, Ford is said to have stated that she did not believe the depiction of Canadian scenes was essential for the creation of or participation in the Canadian school of art. the Palette Club, the Ontario Society of Artists, the Women’s International Art Club Many of her works are in the National Gallery of Canada, The Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

Works