Hortense Gordon • by Earl Miller • 1

Hamilton Arts & Letters “She must be the first woman to have painted completely non-objective pictures in Canada, and as early as 1940, the first to bring the theories of Hans Hofman into the country, and teach them, of all places, in a technical school... Surely no one could better symbolize the present vitality of Canadian art.” ~ Harold Town, 19611 Despite this generous accolade by English Canada’s most publicly-recognized abstract painter at the time, Hortense Gordon has largely been forgotten. Incongruous with Gordon’s obscurity is her noteworthy impact on Canadian art history. She was one of the first Canadian artists to dedicate herself to abstract painting, seven years before the formation of the Painter's Eleven, the pioneering collective of English-Canadian abstract artists. Indeed, Gordon’s abstraction, rooted in her studies with the famed German-American painter Hans Hofman, was tremendously influential on the Painter's Eleven. Her influence was particularly felt on two of its members: Oshawa-based Alexandra Luke (the only other female member) and Hamilton-based Ray Mead.  [  >>>>>  FORWARD ]   + [Distillate © HA&L + Earl Miller {from the Greek bios} -- the course of a life.]