A Canadian by birth, James Morrice became a self-imposed exile to Paris, France where he pursued impressionism and post-impressionism and took a stand against the prevailing avant-garde movements of Cubism and Fauvism. However, on frequent return trips to Canada, he tried to inject Canadian art with elements of modernism but felt frustrated at these efforts. In retrospect, some art critics regard him as "the finest Canadian artist of his time" (p. 64).

Morrice was born in Montreal as one of eight children to a wealthy Scots Presbyterian family. Although he showed early art talent, he studied to become a lawyer and was admitted to the Ontario Bar, but never had to make a living because of family income.

In 1890, he went to Par...