I am delighted to acknowledge the many people who helped bring this work to fruition. Molly Lamb Bobak’s daughter, Anny Scoones, graciously offered insights on all aspects of her mother’s life, helping me to fill gaps in my archival research.
I am grateful to Meredith MacLean, the Collections Specialist at the Canadian War Museum, who facilitated my research into the Molly Lamb Bobak fonds and arranged for me to view work by both Molly and Bruno Bobak. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Professor Brian Foss for generously sharing his expertise on Canadian war artists.
It has been a pleasure to work with the wonderful team at the Art Canada Institute—including Anna Hudson, Ruth Jones, Erin Szikora, Michael Rattray, and Kendra Ward. The book has benefitted immensely from Rosemary Shipton’s guidance and editorial input, and I thank her for her patience and good humour. I am especially grateful to Sara Angel for her constant encouragement and for inviting me to contribute to this wonderful resource.
I would like to thank my colleagues at the Ottawa Art Gallery—Alexandra Badzak, Rebecca Basciano, and Catherine Sinclair—whose support during the research and writing of this book, as we simultaneously planned the gallery’s inaugural exhibition, was unwavering.
Finally, I owe a longstanding debt to my parents for their belief in me and what I do, and especially to my husband, Dr. Marcel Swiboda, whose deep commitment to humanistic education inspires me always.
From the Art Canada Institute
The Art Canada Institute gratefully acknowledges the generosity of The Sabourin Family Foundation, the Title Sponsor of this book.
The Art Canada Institute gratefully acknowledges the other sponsors of the 2018–2019 Canadian Online Art Book Project: Anonymous, Alexandra Bennett in memory of Jalynn Bennett, Consignor Canadian Fine Art, Kiki and Ian Delaney, Maxine Granovsky Gluskin and Ira Gluskin, Gershon Iskowitz Foundation, Karen Schreiber and Marnie Schreiber, and Sandra L. Simpson.
We also sincerely thank the Founding Sponsor for the Art Canada Institute: BMO Financial Group; and the Art Canada Institute Patrons: Butterfield Family Foundation,* David and Vivian Campbell,* Connor, Clark & Lunn Foundation, Albert E. Cummings,* the Fleck family,* Roger and Kevin Garland,* Glorious and Free Foundation,* Charlotte Gray and George Anderson, The Scott Griffin Foundation,* Jane Huh,* Lawson Hunter, Gershon Iskowitz Foundation,* Alan and Patricia Koval Foundation, Phil Lind,* Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau,* John O’Brian, Gerald Sheff and Shanitha Kachan,* Stephen Smart,* Nalini and Tim Stewart,* and Robin and David Young.*
We thank our Lead Benefactors: Alexandra Baillie, Alexandra Bennett and the Jalynn Bennett Family Foundation,* Grant and Alice Burton, Kiki and Ian Delaney,* Jon S. and Lyne Dellandrea,* Michelle Koerner and Kevin Doyle,* Sarah and Tom Milroy,* Partners in Art,* Sandra L. Simpson,* Pam and Michael Stein,* and Sara and Michael Angel.*
*Indicates a Founding Patron of the Art Canada Institute
The ACI gratefully acknowledges the support and assistance of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Jennifer Nicoll); Alan Klinkhoff Gallery (Alan Klinkhoff, Johnathan Klinkhoff); Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (Stephen Topfer); Art Gallery of Sudbury (Karley Staskus); Art Gallery of Windsor (Nicole McCabe); Art Institute of Chicago; Beaverbrook Art Gallery (Celine Gorham); The Brechin Group Inc. (Danyel); Burnaby Art Gallery (Hilary Letwin); Canada Council Art Bank (Martha Young); Canadian Postage Stamps (Jacob Van Vuuren); Canadian War Museum (Dominique Dufour); Estate of Molly Lamb Bobak (Alex Bobak, Anny Scoones); Galerie Eric Klinkhoff (Eric Klinkhoff); Gallery 78 (Nikki Thériault); Globe and Mail (Douglas Tripp); Toni Hafkenscheid; Heffel Fine Art Auction House (Carolyn Peralta, Molly Tonken); Library and Archives Canada (Cédric Lafontaine); Steve MacGillivray; MacKenzie Art Gallery (Marie Olinik); McGill University (Emily Golan Silver); Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery (Erin Watkins, Jana Tyner); National Gallery of Canada (Raven Amiro, Michelle Robitaille); New Brunswick Art Bank (Danielle Hogan); Nimbus Publishing (Terrilee Bulger, Debbie Cameron); Ottawa Art Gallery (Michelle Gewurtz); Carol-Ann Ryan; Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (Josh Green); Royal BC Museum (Kelly-Ann Turkington); Sheree Fitch; Simon Fraser University Galleries (Christina Hedlund); Sotheby’s (Laura West); Tate Gallery; Toronto Public Library (Michele Melady, Michal); TouchWood Editions (Tori Elliott); the Vancouver Art Gallery (Danielle Currie); Waddingtons Auctioneers & Appraisers (Anna Holmes); and Winchester Galleries (Linda Hensellek).
IMAGE SOURCES
Every effort has been made to secure permissions for all copyrighted material. The Art Canada Institute will gladly correct any errors or omissions.
Credit for Banner Images
Biography: Vera Weatherbie, Portrait of Molly, 1938. (See below for details.)
Key Works: Molly Lamb Bobak, The Studio, 1956. (See below for details.)
Significance & Critical Issues: Molly Lamb, Gas Drill, 1944. (See below for details.)
Style & Technique: Molly Lamb Bobak, New Housing Project, 1956. (See below for details.)
Sources & Resources: Molly Lamb Bobak, The Legislative Ball, 1986. (See below for details.)
Where to See: Installation view of Molly Lamb Bobak: Talk of the Town, Burnaby Art Gallery, January 19–April 8, 2018, photograph by Blaine Campbell. (See below for details.)
The Base Post Office, Lot, Belgium, n.d. Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1553). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
The Bath House, 1946. Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1555). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
Black Rocks, Caesaria, 1985. Private collection. Courtesy of Heffel Fine Art Auction House.
“Bouquet with Tobacco Plant,” 1977, illustration from Wild Flowers of Canada: Impressions and Sketches of a Field Artist (Pagurian Press, 1978). Photo credit: Rachel Topham.
Bremen Ruins at Night, 1945. Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1558). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
British Columbia Beach, 1993. City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection, (BAG AN 2005.37). Photo credit: Harry Booth.
Burtt’s Corner Band, 1987. Private Collection. Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Canteen, Nijmegen, Holland, 1945. Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1561). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
Classroom, 1951. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, B.C. Artists Picture Purchase Fund, (VAG 51.23). Photo credit: Vancouver Art Gallery.
Cornflowers, 1950. Private Collection. Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Corsini Palace, Florence, 1983. Private Collection. Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Crocus and Thorn, 1959. Private Collection. Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.
CWACs on Leave in Amsterdam, September, 1945, 1946. Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1581). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
CWACs Sorting Mail, n.d. Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1595). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
The Fair, n.d. Private Collection. Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.
“Geraniums,” 1977, illustration from Wild Flowers of Canada: Impressions and Sketches of a Field Artist (Pagurian Press, 1978). Photo credit: Rachel Topham.
German Children in Bremen, Germany, 1945. Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1604). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
Grain Boats at English Bay, Vancouver Harbour, n.d. Private collection. Courtesy of Heffel Fine Art Auction House.
The Great Kite Festival No. 2, n.d. Private Collection. Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Illustration (detail) in Anny Scoones, A Tale of Merlin the Billy Dog (Apple Press Farm, 2000), illustrations by Molly Lamb Bobak. Courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario Library and Archives. Photo credit: Erin Szikora.
Illustration in Frances Itani, Linger by the Sea (Brunswick Press, 1979), watercolour illustrations by Molly Lamb Bobak. Photo credit: Toronto Public Library.
Illustration for “Frog Burping” in Sheree Fitch, Merry-Go Day (Doubleday Canada, 1991), illustrations by Molly Lamb Bobak. Photo credit: Toronto Public Library.
Illustration for “The Moon’s a Banana” in Sheree Fitch, Toes in My Nose and Other Poems (Doubleday Canada, 1987), illustrations by Molly Lamb Bobak. Photo credit: Toronto Public Library.
Interior with Moroccan Carpet, 1991. Collection of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, purchased with funds raised by the MacKenzie Gallery Volunteers. Photo credit: Don Hall, courtesy of the MacKenzie Art Gallery.
John, Dick, and the Queen, 1977. New Brunswick Art Bank. Photo credit: New Brunswick Art Bank.
“A Jug of August Flowers,” 1977, illustration from Wild Flowers of Canada: Impressions and Sketches of a Field Artist (Pagurian Press, 1978). Photo credit: Rachel Topham.
The Legislative Ball, 1986. Private collection, Montreal. Photo credit: Alan Klinkhoff Gallery.
North Vancouver Ferry, 1950. Collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Photo credit: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
November 11, 1971. Firestone Collection of Canadian Art, Ottawa Art Gallery, donated to the City of Ottawa by the Ontario Heritage Foundation. Photo credit: David Barbour.
On the Beach, 1983. Private collection, Calgary. Courtesy of Heffel Fine Art Auction House.
Private Roy, Canadian Women’s Army Corps, 1946. Beaverbrook Collection of War Art, Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1626). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
Pub, Sloane Square, 1970. Collection of the Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, (ABBA #72/3-1557). Photo credit: Canada Council Art Bank.
“Red Poppies,” 1977, illustration from Wild Flowers of Canada: Impressions and Sketches of a Field Artist (Pagurian Press: 1977). Photo credit: Rachel Topham.
Shediac Beach (N.B.), 1972. Collection of the Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, (ABBA #72/3-1816). Photo credit: Lawrence Cook.
Signing Up for the Pacific, 1945. Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1633). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
Still Life, 1951. Collection of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia, gift of the Estate of Sheila and Wilfred Watson. Photo credit: Michael R. Barrick.
Still Life Revisited, 1955. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, transfer from Vancouver Art Gallery Women’s Auxiliary Picture Loan Committee, (VAG 70.38). Photo credit: Vancouver Art Gallery.
“Tulips,” 1977, illustration from Wild Flowers of Canada: Impressions and Sketches of a Field Artist (Pagurian Press, 1978). Photo credit: Rachel Topham.
Untitled (Christmas Card), c.1995. The Laura Brandon Collection of Canadian Women’s Art, Ottawa Art Gallery. Photo credit: Justin Wonnacott.
Untitled (Vancouver), 1941. Private collection. Photo credit: Steve MacGillivray.
Victory Japan Celebrations, 1945. Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1650). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
View from the Bridge, n.d. Private collection. Courtesy of Gallery 78.
Warm Pub, n.d. Private collection. Courtesy of Heffel Fine Art Auction House.
White Tulips, 1956, McGill Visual Arts Collection, McGill University Library, Montreal (1973-284). Courtesy of McGill Visual Arts Collection.
Wild Flowers of Canada: Impressions and Sketches of a Field Artist, 1978. Published by Pagurian Press. Photo credit: Rachel Topham.
Wilhelmshaven at Night, 1945. Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, (19710261-1654). Photo credit: Canadian War Museum.
Credits for Photographs and Works by Other Artists
Bruno Bobak, Campus Gates, 1964 (appeared on stamp, 1982), Collection of the University of New Brunswick Collection. Photo credit: Canada Post Corporation.
Bruno Bobak, Primroses, 1960. Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, purchased 1961 (9725). Photo credit: National Gallery of Canada.
Cover of The Artist Herself: Self-Portraits by Canadian Historical Women / L’artiste elle-même : autosportraits de femmes artistes au Canada (Kingston: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, and Art Gallery of Hamilton, 2015). Photo credit: Stephanie Burdzy.
David Milne, Storm Over the Islands No. 3, 1951. Collection of the Art Gallery of Windsor, bequest of Frances Duncan Barwick, (19851985.064.003). Photo credit: Art Gallery of Windsor.
Emily Carr in her studio, 1939. Photograph by Harold Mortimer-Lamb. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, gift of Claudia Beck and Andrew Gruft.
Harold Mortimer-Lamb, Self-Portrait, n.d. Collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Photo credit: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
Honoré Daumier, Une Terrible Rencontre, 1845. Collection of the Ailsa Mellon Brunce Fund at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., (1979.49.118). Photo credit: National Gallery of Art.
Installation view of Molly Lamb Bobak: Talk of the Town. Curated by Hilary Letwin, Burnaby Art Gallery, January 19–April 8, 2018. Selection of work from the City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection and on loan from the Canadian War Museum, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Vancouver Art Gallery and the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia. Photo credit: Blaine Campbell.
Installation view of Molly Lamb Bobak: Talk of the Town, curated by Hilary Letwin, Burnaby Art Gallery, January 19–April 8, 2018. Selection of work from the City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection and on loan from the Canadian War Museum, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Vancouver Art Gallery and the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia. Photo credit: Blaine Campbell.
J.M.W. Turner, Snow Storm—Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth, 1842. Collection of the Tate Gallery, London, accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest, 1856 (N00530). Photo credit: Tate Gallery.
John Vanderpant, Urge, 1937. Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, purchased 2006, (41961). Photo credit: National Gallery of Canada.
Molly Lamb as a child at Burnaby Lake, British Columbia, 1923. Photograph by Harold Mortimer-Lamb. Image (I-66770) courtesy of the Royal BC Museum and Archives, Victoria.
Molly Lamb Bobak and Bruno Bobak, 1946. Photograph by George Rutherford. Courtesy of TouchWood Editions.
Molly Lamb Bobak and Bruno Bobak in their Peters Road house, designed by Doug Shadbolt, n.d. Photographer unknown. Photo credit: Erin Szikora.
Molly Lamb Bobak, November 1978. Photograph by Erik Christensen. Courtesy of the Globe and Mail.
The Mortimer-Lamb family home, West 54th Avenue, Vancouver, photograph by Harold Mortimer-Lamb. Image (H-05315) courtesy of the Royal BC Museum and Archives, Victoria.
Murray Kinloch, Desmond Pacey, Bruno Bobak, and Molly Lamb Bobak at Lamb Bobak’s solo exhibition at the University of New Brunswick Art Centre, 1961. Photographer unknown. Photo credit: Erin Szikora.
Official war artists, 1945, at the National Gallery of Canada. Photographer unknown. Photo credit: Erin Szikora.
Paul Cézanne, The Basket of Apples, 1893. Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection, Art Institute of Chicago, (1926.252). Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Paul Cézanne, Gardanne, 1885–86. Collection of the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, (BF917). Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Paul Cézanne, Geraniums, 1888–90. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C, (1995.47.25). Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Paul Cézanne, Still Life Flowers in a Vase, 1888. Private collection. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Pegi Nicol MacLeod, Christmas Tree and Skaters, Rockefeller Plaza, 1946. Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, purchased 1950, (5024). Photo credit: National Gallery of Canada.
Queen Elizabeth and Premier Richard B. Hatfield, July 15, 1976. Photographer unknown. Collection of the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, Fredericton. Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.
Thomas Hart Benton, Island Hay, 1945. Private collection. Courtesy of The Owings Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Photo credit: Sotheby’s Canada.
Vera Weatherbie, Portrait of Molly, 1938. Collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Photo credit: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
Art Canada Institute
Massey College, University of Toronto
4 Devonshire Place
Toronto, ON M5S 2E1
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Gewurtz, Michelle, 1978-, author
Molly Lamb Bobak : life & work / Michelle Gewurtz.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4871-0189-3 (HTML).—ISBN 978-1-4871-0188-6 (PDF)
1. Bobak, Molly Lamb, 1920-2014. 2. Bobak, Molly Lamb,
1920-2014—Criticism and interpretation. 3. Biographies. I. Art
Canada Institute, issuing body II. Title.
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