Julian Ruggles Seavey (1857 - 1940)
About the Artist:
Head of Art Department
Hamilton Normal School 1908-1931
"Julian Ruggles Seavey was to the art department of the Hamilton Normal School what John Gordon was to art education at the Hamilton Technical Institute."
One of the most prestigious artists to have called Hamilton his home, Julian Ruggles Seavey was born in Boston, coming to Hamilton in 1879 only after studying art in New York, Paris, Rome, and Germany. Seavey was to become a major force in the promotion of local art and culture within the city. He was a diverse artist, but perhaps his greatest contribution was the role he played as a teacher. In 1908, when the Hamilton Normal School opened as a facility to train public school teachers, Seavey developed and presided over the art department from the time the school opened until his retirement in 1931. After 1911, he lectured on art in summer courses at the University of Toronto and also held private classes at the Brantford academy as well as at his studio/home. He developed a colour chart for teaching the pigmentary system of colour which was published in 1912 and used as a teaching tool in many English speaking countries.
J.R. Seavey was also important to Hamilton because his sketches now serve as historical references. In 1897, he published a collection of 95 drawings depicting churches, graveyards, inns and mills of old Hamilton. The collection written by Alma Dick-Lauder, was entitled 'Pen and Pencil Sketches of Wentworth Landmarks a series of articles descriptive of quaint places and interesting localities in the surrounding county', 1897. This wonderful little book, still available at the Hamilton Public Library, is a valuable record of Hamilton landscapes from the 1890's and was originally published as a series of articles in the Hamilton Spectator.
Seavey showed his affection for Hamilton by involving himself with community groups. He formed the Hamilton Art Students League with fellow artist, John Sloan Gordon and was elected as the group’s first president. In 1937, Seavey became the president of the Men’s Art Club of Hamilton and he also instructed many members of the Women’s Art Association of Hamilton (WAAH) in his 40 by 30-foot studio. It was a lavish addition to his family home, decorated with coconut matting on the floor, easels all about and a glass wall facing the garden.
Five of Seavey’s pieces are in the Hamilton Art Gallery’s permanent collection. He had exhibitions with the Ontario Society of Artists and the Royal Canadian Academy and also contributed eight full plates for Pauline Johnson’s book 'Flint and Feather', 1913.
Stuart MacCuaig
Climbing the Cold White Peaks:
A survey of artists in and from Hamilton 1910-1950
About the Paintings:
Music done in oils was completed in 1890 and is in possession of The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. It was included in the National Art Gallery engagement calendar for 1962.
Old Terryberry Inn is one of the more than ninety illustrations by Julian Seavey for Pen and Pencil Sketches of Wentworth Landmarks by Alma Dick Lauder first published in 1897.
