Sylvia Tait

Sylvia Tait (born March 20, 1932) is a Canadian abstract painter and print-maker.

For the endocrinologist, see Sylvia Agnes Sophia Tait.

Life

Tait attended the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts School of Art and Design from 1949 to 1953, completing an undergraduate degree. Her instructors included Arthur Lismer, Jacques de Tonnancour, Marian Scott, Eldon Grier, Gordon Webber and William Armstrong.

Tait married artist and poet Eldon Grier in 1954.[1] He had long-standing connections in Mexico (including with Diego Rivera) and they spent extended periods in San Miguel de Allende in the late 1950s.[2] The couple moved to British Columbia in 1968 and Tait set up her studio in West Vancouver.[3][4]

Exhibitions and influences

Tait has exhibited in Canada, Mexico and Ecuador since the 1950s. Since 1977, Tait has been affiliated with the Bau-Xi Gallery in Vancouver, BC.[5] Tait's work Aquascapes was installed at the West Vancouver Pool in 2004, and fully restored in 2013.[6]

Notable exhibitions
  • In 2011, the West Vancouver Museum exhibited a retrospective of Tait's art work "as a tribute to her career."[7]
  • In 2014, Tait exhibited in the West Vancouver Museum's exhibition "The And of the Land" alongside other B.C. artists such as Lawren Harris, Jack Shadbolt, and Takao Tanabe.[8]
  • In 2017, Tait exhibited in the Burnaby Art Gallery's exhibition "Sylvia Tait: Journey"[9]

Influences

Among her influences were the Abstract Expressionism art movement and classical music. Although Tait's early paintings were representational, her mature and current works on canvas and paper are purely abstract, showing a complex use of layered high key colour. Tait's paintings have been described as "visual image-like poetry, using colour instead of words."[10]

Publications

Tait collaborated with Grier and John Huberman in the design and illustration of several books, including:[11]

  • Grier, Eldon. The Ring of Ice: Poems. Montreal: Cambridge Press, 1957. Graphics by Sylvia Tait.
  • Grier, Eldon. A Friction of Lights. Toronto: Contact Press, 1963; London: Poets' and Painters' Press. Dust jacket designed by Sylvia Tait.
  • Grier, Eldon. Pictures on the Skin: Poems. Montreal: Delta Canada, 1967. Drawings and collages by Sylvia Tait.
  • Huberman, John and Sylvia Tait. For a lark: a remedial field guide for confused birdwatchers. Vancouver: J. Huberman, c1974.
  • Grier, Eldon. The Assassination of Colour. Fredericton, New Brunswick.: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1978. Cover by Sylvia Tait. ISBN 0920110606

References
  1. "Eldon Grier". Canadian poetry, 1920 to 1960. Edited by Brian Trehearne. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. 2010. p. 428. ISBN 978-0-7710-8633-5. OCLC 773825871.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "Sylvia Tait article in Artists in Canada". Canadian Heritage Information Network. National Gallery of Canada. May 14, 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  3. Morrissey, Stephen. "The Last Modernist: Eldon Grier in Canada, a review of Eldon Grier: Collected Poems, 1955-2000". StephenMorrissey.ca. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  4. Sylvia Tait - Artist's Biography. Vancouver, B.C.: Bau-Xi-Gallery. 1994.
  5. "Sylvia Tait". Bau-Xi Gallery. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  6. Watson, Anne (2013-10-13). "Art restored at West Vancouver pool". North Shore News. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  7. "Sylvia Tait: A Classical Spirit is a mini-retrospective of a West Coast original". Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 2011-04-19. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  8. "Art This Week: Enchanted paintings, connected landscapes, a sound art retrospective". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  9. "Sylvia Tait: Journey". www.burnaby.ca. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  10. Lerner, Loren R.; Williamson, Mary F. (1991-01-01). Art and Architecture in Canada: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802058560.
  11. "Search of National Library of Canada Amicus library catalogue". Amicus Canadian National Catalogue. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 19 April 2015.


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