Manly E MacDonald

Manly Edward MacDonald (1889 – 1971) was a Canadian semi-impressionistic painter who was born in Point Anne, close to Belleville, Ontario. He was the son of William MacDonald, a farmer and fisherman who emigrated to Canada from England. His work captured and recorded rural Ontario practices such as ploughing, cutting ice, collecting sap, logging and fishing. He is particularly renowned for his depictions of working horses in flowing motion, streams and gristmills. MacDonald also painted landscapes and the occasional portrait.

While most of his work is oil-on-board or oil-on-canvas, he also worked in pastels and various etching methods. At the age of 19, MacDonald was enrolled at the OCAD (then known as Central Ontario School of Art and Industrial Design). He also took courses at the Albright School of Art in Buffalo, New York and the School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Late in life, MacDonald was an active member of the Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Although MacDonald was a reserved family man, he was embroiled in controversy over traditionalist vs modernist styles. This ultimately led him and three fellow OSA members to resign from the OSA on the basis that it was being dominated by modernists and not fulfilling its role of encouraging fine arts in Ontario. On the other hand, Modernists such as Graham Coughtry complained that "every damn tree in the country has been painted."

Towards the end of the First World War, MacDonald was commissioned to paint scenes to document Canada's war effort. The Women in War Series illustrates how women left their traditional roles to support the gathering of food while men were away at war. Macdonald's land girls hoeing is part of the collection at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. Another important commission for MacDonald was a 1959 painting of the Toronto skyline that was the city of Toronto's gift to Queen Elizabeth II. The traditionalist vs modernist tensions continued with MacDonald's style of painting described by the OSA as an insult to Her Majesty. However the same painting, now part of the Queen's Royal Collection at Sandringham, was described by MacDonald as "sane" and one which the Queen would understand. MacDonald continued to paint until his very last days. He died on 10 April 1971 having completed about 2000 works. Many of his works are on display in national and provincial galleries with large permanent displays at the John M. Parrott Art Gallery at the Belleville Public Library and at the Loyalist College Library, also in Belleville.

Notable works and events

1918 and 1920 - Awarded Royal Canadian Academy of Arts travelling scholarship to paint in Europe.

1923 and 1925 – Chosen for 1st British Empire Exhibition at Wembley.

1928-30 – Exhibited at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.

1938 – Exhibited works at the London Tate Gallery's Canadian exhibition.

1939 - Exhibited works at the New York World's Fair.

1948 – Became an Academician of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

1951 – Resigned from the OSA due to its modern leaning interests.

1957 – Painted seven works for the commission for the St Lawrence Seaway Authority, documenting various mills along the banks of the St Lawrence River.

1958 - Became a founding member of the Ontario Institute of Painters.