Miller Brittain

Miller Gore Brittain (November 12, 1912 – January 21, 1968) was a Canadian artist from Saint John, New Brunswick.[1]

Miller Brittain
Born
Miller Gore Brittain

(1912-11-12)November 12, 1912
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
DiedJanuary 21, 1968(1968-01-21) (aged 55)
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationSaint John Vocational School, Arts Students League of New York
Known forPainting
MovementSocial realism, Irony
AwardsCanadian Centennial Medal

Brittain was born and raised in Saint John and is among the country's most accomplished painters. He studied art with Elizabeth Russell Holt in Saint John and under Harry Wickey in New York City. In 1932, after living in New York, he returned to Saint John, where he worked at clerical and construction jobs and opened an art studio on the waterfront. During this period, he captured realistic scenes of everyday life in the city which incorporated social commentary. Brittain served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II and served two years as a war artist.

Career

Brittain is considered one of Canada's most prolific painters. His work broke from contemporary style at the time of the Group of Seven when landscapes of the country dominated Canada's art scene. Brittain focused on working class life in his hometown of Saint John with his signature style in social-realism.

The National Film Board of Canada produced a film based on his life in 1981. The film was awarded Best Overall Entry at the Atlantic Film Festival in 1982.[2]

Princess St. in uptown Saint John near Brittain's studio.

Brittain's work is held in private collections and a number of art galleries in Canada including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian War Museum and retrospectives of his work have appeared in various Canadian galleries including the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and the National Gallery of Canada.

Brittain was a founding member of the Federation of Canadian Artists in 1941. After the war, his paintings took on a more surreal aspect, taking as their subject biblical topics,[1] abstract figures, nudes and flowers.[3] Brittain had married Connie Starr in 1951; he was devastated by her death from cancer seven years later and was treated several times for alcoholism in his later life.[4]

Life in Saint John

After studying in New York, Brittain felt he didn't have to leave the region to make a career as an artist. However, at the time Saint John was still recovering from three major fires and was in the middle of the Depression. As a young man he worked as a draftsman and worked on the docks while working on his craft amongst a thriving arts community including Ruth Starr, Ted Campbell, Fred Ross and Jack Humphrey. In January 1949, his first major exhibit at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John. The exhibition was so popular he went on to do a series of solo shows in New York. In 1968, Brittain was awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal for his contribution to Canadian art.[5]

In 1968, he died tragically of a stroke at the age of 55 after years of struggling with alcoholism. Brittain was an icon of the Saint John arts community and presence is still felt in the city's arts scene today. The popular Britt's Pub, named for the artist, is on the ground floor of his studio at 42 Princess St.

See also

Notes
  1. "Miller Brittain - Biography". National Gallery of Canada. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  2. "Miller Brittain". National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  3. "Miller Brittain: When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears". McMichael Canadian Art Collection. 2008. Archived from the original on July 5, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  4. "About Miller Brittain". National Gallery of Canada. 2009. Archived from the original on November 11, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  5. http://w3.stu.ca/stu/sites/nble/b/brittain_miller.html. Retrieved January 2, 2018. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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