Mevagissey, Cornwall 1950

Created during “our wonderful year,”  when McCarthy travelled with fellow teacher and friend Virginia Luz (1911–2005) across Europe while on sabbatical from Central Technical School, the painting depicts some of the homes along the hillside of the fishing village of Mevagissey in Cornwall. This work represents a turning point in McCarthy’s mastery of drawing technique—not just of capturing the scene but of structuring it as well. The image is composed in the zigzag pattern she adopted from her instructor Hortense Gordon (1886–1961) at the Ontario Training College for Technical Teachers. The colours are rich and varied, and the mat medium complements the sunless English sky while retaining the lushness of the setting. McCarthy’s decision to paint this location was doubtless influenced by her love for fishing villages in the Gaspé, Quebec, which she visited often.

McCarthy credited her skill in drawing to her training at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, England, where she learned from teachers including Frederick James Porter (1883–1944) and John Skeaping (1901–1980) “what structure and drawing meant.”  Thereafter, she was extremely critical of the education she had received previously at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University). “I came home with this going on in my head,” she said, “and from then on, that’s what I taught.”  While in England, McCarthy also met Duncan Grant (1885–1978), and she may have learned from him about the Austrian artist Egon Schiele (1890–1918). Her painting of Mevagissey bears an uncanny resemblance to some of Schiele’s townscapes that are equally claustrophobic, use tight, nervous lines, and adopt a high vantage point.