|
Au
fil des quatre années passées au Mexique, il s’adonne également à la
nature morte, au paysage, au portait, ainsi qu’aux scènes de rue et
de marché.Cosgrove rentre au Canada à la fin de 1943, se concentrant sur la
peinture tout en enseignant à temps partiel à l’École des Beaux-Arts
de Montréal; il signe un contrat avec la Galerie Dominion, puis
présente une autre exposition solo au Art Association of Montreal.
En
1953 le gouvernement lui octroie une bourse pour étudier en France
(1953-54) avec son ami Goodridge Roberts. À la même époque, il est
actif en conception textile, et travaille avec un groupe d’artistes,
dont Paul-Émile Borduas.
Il
œuvre également à developper l’intérêt pour les fresques modernes au
Canada, plus particulièrement dans les églises, et enseigne cette
technique à l’École des Beaux Art; il réalise d’ailleurs une fresque
dans l’entrée de l’aile de philosophie et sciences du Collège de
Saint-Laurent.
En
1958, il quitte l’École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal pour se consacrer
à la peinture à temps plein, bien qu’il reviendra y enseigner le
dessin en 1960. Cosgrove est élu membre de l'Académie Royale des
Arts du Canada en 1967. Au cours des décennies suivantes, il se
consacre à la peinture. Stanley Cosgrove décède à Montréal à l'âge
de 91 ans.
Born in
Montreal, Quebec, he studied art under Charles Maillard, Henri
Charpentier, Maurice Félix and Joseph St-Charles at École des
Beaux-Arts de Montreal (1929-1935); with Edwin Holgate at the Art
Association of Montreal (1936). From 1937 to 1939, he would spent
his summers painting in Charlevoix, Québec, with fellow artists Jori
Smith, Jean Paul Lemieux, and Jean Palardy. In 1938, he assisted
Edwin Holgate in the creation of a fresco for the Canadian pavilion
at the New-York World Fair.
In 1939 he
enjoyed the rare honour of being invited to have his first solo show
at the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec while still a
student. He also exhibited with the Contemporary Art Society that
year. Still in 1939, he received a Quebec Provincial scholarship to
study in France for four years but WW II forced a change in his
plans and he was allowed to study on the American continent and
chose
Mexico.
There he became interested in fresco painting and approached José
Clemente Orozco through teacher friends. Orozco, who had just begun
a fresco for the hospital Jesus de Nazareno in Mexico City, agreed
to let him help with some part of the work. Cosgrove stayed with
Orozco until the completion of the fresco. It was from working with
Orozco that Cosgrove felt a new assurance and directness not
experienced in his previous work. During his four years in Mexico he
also did still lifes, landscapes, portraits, street and market
scenes.
He then returned
to Canada
at the end of 1943 where he concentrated on painting, took a
part-time position teaching at l’École des Beaux-Arts and signed a
contract with the Dominion Gallery in Montreal. He also held a solo
show at the Art Association of Montreal.
In 1953 Cosgrove
was awarded a Government fellowship to study in France (1953-1954)
with good friend Goodridge Roberts. Also in 1953 he was active in
the field of textile designing, working with a group of artists
which included Paul-Émile Borduas.
He had also
worked for wider interest in modern fresco painting in Canada,
particularly in churches, and he conducted classes in this medium at
the École des Beaux-Arts. He completed a fresco for the entrance of
the philosophy and science wing of the Collège de Saint.Laurent near
Montreal.
In 1958 he left
l’École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal to devote his full time to
painting but went back briefly to teach drawing in 1960. He was
elected member of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1967. In the next
decades he mainly devoted himself to painting and exhibiting his
work. He died in Montreal at age 91. |
