While Impressionism was controversial in Canada even several decades after its appearance in France, McNicoll’s work was consistently well received. She was especially praised by critics for her sunny subjects and treatment of light and air, as seen in Sunny September. Her gender may partially explain this positive reaction: women Impressionists received positive notice for their soft, pretty treatments of everyday subjects, even as their male colleagues received criticism for those same qualities.
Helen McNicoll’s Subversive Femininity
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Helen McNicoll, Sunny September, 1913
Oil on canvas, 92 x 107.5 cm, Collection Pierre Lassonde