Born in Montréal, Quebec in 1865. Died in Tunis, Tunisia in 1924. James Wilson Morrice RCA, who was born into an affluent Montréal family, studied law in Toronto from 1882 to 1886. After graduating and being admitted to the Bar, he devoted himself entirely to painting. In 1888, he exhibited his works for the first time. Towards 1890, he made a decisive trip to Europe, and only ever returned to Canada for short periods. In Paris, Morrice studied with Harpignies, who elicited his interest in landscape and encouraged him to paint from nature. He admired Whistler’s work, was a regular at literary circles and formed a friendship with Somerset Maughan. Between 1890 and 1924, Morrice travelled a great deal, first in Brittany and then Venice, North Africa—specifically Morocco, where he shared a studio with Matisse—and Tunisia. He also travelled to the West Indies and the Caribbean (Cuba, Trinidad and Jamaica).
'View towards Levi from Quebec City.'
Painting extracted from Cybermuse. Please click here.
Picture and biography extracted from virtual museum.ca. Please click here.
