Florence McGillivray The Forgotten Matriarch of Canadian Modernism

<p>In the early twentieth century Florence McGillivray was one of the most accomplished prolific and well-travelled female artists in Canada. Her peers recognized her skills and mastery in Post-Impressionistic and Modernistic styles and respected her as a tenured art instructor. But for the most part history has forgotten her. A name almost everyone has heard of on the other hand is Tom Thomson. Tom was a family friend of Florence's and there is evidence that she enlightened him about the international Modernist movement she had observed in Europe planting a seed that would change Canadian art forever.</p>