Miller Brittain

Miller Gore Brittain (November 12, 1912 – January 21, 1968) was a Canadian artist from Saint John, New Brunswick. He was largely known for creating paintings and drawings encapsulating social realism.

Early life Miller Gore Brittain was born on November 12, 1912, in Saint John, New Brunswick, to parents James Firth Brittain and Margaret Bartlett Lord. He was educated at the Saint John Vocational School (now Harbour View High School), where he took art classes. During his childhood, he was also a student at the Saint John Art Club, where he studied art with Elizabeth Russell Holt. He also studied art under Harry Wickey in New York City. In 1932, after living in New York, he returned to Saint John, where he worked at clerical and construction jobs and opened an art studio on the waterfront. During this period, he captured realistic scenes of everyday life in the city which incorporated social commentary. During the 1930s, he joined the Oxford Group, a Christian organization.

After the war, his paintings took on a more surreal aspect, taking as their subject biblical topics, In 1947, Brittain won a prize from the Canadian Society of Graphic Art and the next year he held two one-person shows at St. John in the New Brunswick Museum and in Dayton, Ohio, at the Dayton Museum.

Personal life and death Brittain married Constance Mary Starr on January 14, 1952. He was devastated by her death from cancer seven years later and was treated several times for alcoholism in his later life. In December 1967, Brittain suffered from a stroke. He later died following an illness at the age of 55 on January 21, 1968, in the Saint John General Hospital.

Posthumous reputation In 1968, Brittain was awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal posthumously for his contribution to Canadian art. Brittain's work is held in private collections and a number of art galleries in Canada including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Canada and a retrospective of his work has been held at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (2007) which travelled to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. In 1983, 11 cartoon works done by Brittain were donated to the New Brunswick Museum by his daughter, Jennifer Brittain.

The National Film Board of Canada produced a film based on his life in 1981. The film was awarded Best Overall Entry at the Atlantic Film Festival in 1982.

Record sale price In January 2022 his 1964 painting Figures on a Beach sold for $330,000 CAD in an online auction held by Liz Isaac & Citadel Gallery Auctions owned by Mario Brideau and Liz Isaac of Saint John. This was a record sale price for an oil painting by Brittain. The work was part of the estate of Brittain's daughter Jennifer.