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Emily COONAN

Female 1885 - 1971  (86 years)


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  • Name Emily COONAN 
    Relationshipwith Brian Mark BUSSIERE
    Born 30 May 1885 
    Gender Female 
    Died 23 Jun 1971 
    Siblings 3 siblings 
    Person ID I3950  Bussiere Robinson
    Last Modified 20 Feb 2021 

    Father William C. COONAN,   b. 29 Sep 1854,   d. 29 Sep 1932, Montreal, Quebec Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 78 years) 
    Mother Mary Ann FULLERTON,   b. 1854,   d. 21 Mar 1919, Montreal, Quebec Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 65 years) 
    Family ID F1422  Group Sheet

  • Photos
    Emily Coonan - Girl and Cat 1920
    Emily Coonan - Girl and Cat 1920
    Emily Coonan - Girl in a Dotted Dress - 1923
    Emily Coonan - Girl in a Dotted Dress - 1923
    Emily Coonan - Girl in Green - 1913
    Emily Coonan - Girl in Green - 1913

  • Notes 
    • Emily Coonan was born in 1885 in the Point St. Charles neighborhood of Montreal. She studied first at the Conseil des arts et manufactures, and later at the Art Association of Montreal art classes, from 1905 to 1912, where prominent teacher William Brymner was an early mentor.

      From 1912 to 1913, Coonan traveled to France with fellow artist Mabel May, as well as Holland and Belgium. She was inspired by the French Impressionists, and particularly admired the work of Canadian Impressionist James Wilson Morrice. Her subjects included figurative work drawn from her immediate family and friends, both intimate interiors and outdoor settings, as well asenes. Later, landscape would be her primary focus.

      In 1914 Coonan was the first recipient of the National Gallery of Canada Travelling Scholarship. However, due to World War I she delayed her trip until 1921, when she painted for a year in Florence, Venice, Paris and London. In 1916 she won the Special Prize from the Women's Art Society of Montreal. By the 1920s, Coonan was showing Modernist influences, and her work was chosen for exhibition in the British Empire Exhibit in Wembley in 1924.

      Coonan was one of members of Montreal's Beaver Hall Group, and kept a studio at 305 Beaver Hall Hill from 1922 to 1924. She did not keep up her ties with the women members after the dissolution of the group as the others did. Between 1908 and 1924, she often showed at the Art Association of Montreal and Royal Canadian Academy annual exhibitions, but her exhibiting career ended with her last appearance at an Art Association of Montreal in 1933. She was a very private person, and stayed close to her family. For the next 30 years, she continued to paint, mostly landscapes, and regularly took sketching trips to the Lower St. Lawrence countryside with her family. She died in 1971 in Montreal. [1]

  • Sources 
    1. [S91] Heffel.ca.