Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald

Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald L.L. D. also known as L. L. FitzGerald (March 17, 1890 – August 5, 1956) was a Canadian artist and art educator. He was the only member of the Group of Seven based in western Canada. He worked almost exclusively in Manitoba. Although he accepted the Group of Seven's invitation to become a member in 1932, FitzGerald was less concerned than the rest of the group with the promotion of a unified Canadian identity. Instead he explored his surroundings, delving deeply into the forces he felt animated and united nature in order to make "the picture a living thing".

His landscapes and still lifes were drawn from his immediate surroundings—the view of the back lane outside his house; a potted plant on the windowsill. His style grew more spare and abstract over his career. His body work includes painting in oil and watercolour, drawing, printmaking and sculpture.

Career L. L. FitzGerald was born in Winnipeg on March 17, 1890, to Lionel Henry FitzGerald and Belle (Hicks) FitzGerald. His father, L. H. FitzGerald, was of Irish descent, born in the West Indies and raised in Quebec. He was employed as a bank messenger and sometimes dealt in real estate.

His mother's family had left Devonshire for Canada, reproductions, and he also took pleasure in drawing exercises from popular art coursebooks.

In his spare time, FitzGerald began to draw and paint regularly. He used John Ruskin's Elements of Drawing (1857) as a guide for his self-directed study. He signed up for a winter of evening classes at the A. S. Kesthelyi School of Fine Art.

In 1929, in the chaos of the Wall Street crash of 1929, FitzGerald became the principal of the Winnipeg School of Art. The position inspired him to travel more widely, researching programs throughout North America. He was particularly struck by the works of Paul Cézanne, which had just been donated to the Museum of Modern Art in the Havemeyer bequest.

In 1947, FitzGerald took a leave of absence from his responsibilities as director at the Winnipeg School of Art. With time to concentrate on his artwork, the fifty‒seven‒year‒old painted some of the masterpieces of his career such as The Little Plant (1947, McMichael Canadian Art Collection). As Michael Parke-Taylor writes, this work set the direction for a "series of subtle still‒lifes that are among his best works from the later forties and chart a path to greater abstraction".

By 1950, he was using abstracted compositions and by 1954, he was making abstractions such as Untitled (Abstract Green and Gold) (Winnipeg Art Gallery). However, the art of his latter years always was to vary between abstraction and figuration. His ashes were spread in a field in Snowflake, Manitoba.

Teaching

In 1924, FitzGerald began teaching at the Winnipeg School of Art. He was promoted to principal of the school in 1929, a position he held until 1947.

Honours The University of Manitoba recognized FitzGerald's contributions with an honorary doctorate in 1952 (L.L.D.). He is a "Memorable Manitoban".

Record sale prices At the Cowley Abbott Auction, An Important Private Collection, fall 2023, FitzGerald's Still Life with Plant (1948), oil on canvas mounted on board, 19.75 x 14 ins ( 50.2 x 35.6 cm ), Auction Estimate: $15,000.00 – $25,000.00 realized a price of $168,000.00 CAD.