Charlevoix County, 1930
Charlevoix County, 1930
a memoir of an artist's bohemian life in Charlevoix County in the 1930's
Jori Smith
9 X 8 inches, 114 pages
14 colour plates, 3 b&w photographs
RECENTLY THE SUBJECT OF A MAJOR RETROSPECTIVE at the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University (in collaboration with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on the occasion of her ninetieth birthday), Jori Smith has also written a memoir of her life in Charlevoix County during the 1930s. At that time, married to Jean Palardy, who became an expert on antique furniture of Quebec, she was among many artists who visited Charlevoix, including A.Y. Jackson, Edwin Holgate, George Pepper, Kathleen Daly, Stanley Cosgrove, and Marius Barbeau. Unlike the others, she and Palardy actually wintered in Charlevoix, and from that experience were able to study their subjects candidly.
Arriving as a 23-year-old painter and speaking little French, Jori quickly adapted to the bohemian life and the wonderful beauty of the country. Boarding with different families in the concessions, she became intimate with the county and its inhabitants. This memoir—and the accompanying reproductions of some of her and Jean Palardy's paintings, and ancillary work by Stanley Cosgrove and Simone Mary Bouchard—is a compelling narrative of that experience.
Shortlisted for the 1999 QSPELL Mavis Gallant Prize for non-fiction and the 1999 QSPELL First Book Prize
Jori Smith
Author, Artist
Although primarily associated with Montreal, the work of Jori Smith spans several decades, and her evolution as a modern Canadian painter parallel the founding and growth of the Canadian Group of painters and the Contemporary Art Society. In all her travels—including France, Italy, and Spain, as well as Charlevoix—she is as well-known for stunning and frank portraits as she is for lively landscapes.
