Join us for an evening lecture about the work and significance of artist Miller Gore Brittain (Canadian, 1912-1968). Jones Auction House curator Sarah Jones will explore Brittain’s depiction of the working class in Saint John, his treatment of the human figure, shifts in approach and themes throughout his career, and how his work fits in with the broader Canadian art historical context of the early to mid twentieth century.

We will have two works by Brittain on view at the gallery during the lecture. This is also an opportunity to view Miller Brittain’s studio easel, which is an sale in our current Canadian & International Art auction.

Cost: Free and open to the public. No registration necessary.

Location: Jones Gallery, 122 Prince William Street, Saint John, NB

ABOUT MILLER BRITTAIN

Miller Brittain was a significant Canadian painter and muralist of the early to mid-20th century. While trends elsewhere in Canada tended towards Group of Seven style landscape, Brittain was “one of the few Canadian artists creating social satire in the 1930s; his crowded scenes of everyday life reflect a sympathy for humanity and an ability to express character through gesture,” writes the National Gallery of Canada.

Brittain was born and raised in Saint John, New Brunswick. Following high school, he trained in New York City with Harry Wickey and was introduced to the work of Kenneth Hayes Miller, an American social realist and member of the Ashcan School, a group of artists interested in interpreting everyday scenes of city life and gritty urban landscapes.

Brittain returned to Saint John in 1932 and established a studio near the harbour. He became part of an active cultural circle in Saint John that included visual artists like Jack Humphrey and Ted Campbell. Brittain worked as an official war artist during World War II. After returning to Saint John in 1946, he had professional success with national and international exhibitions.

Brittain’s work in the 1930s responds to the influence of Hayes Miller and the Ashcan School. His subjects are often crowds of urban workers, participating in everyday life. His figures in this period are monumental, filling the frame. His later work in the 1950s and 1960s becomes more inward or psychological, dealing often with Biblical imagery and more abstract ideas about the human experience.