Artist DOROTHY STEVENS (CANADIAN, 1888-1966)

Pastel Drawing of Mrs. Lawson

Date1946-1952

Mediumpastel

Credit LineGift of the Lawson Family, 2004.

Object number2004.037.141

Label TextIn this artwork, the lives of two extraordinary women intersect: the sitter, Helen Agnes Newton Lawson (1887-1977) and the artist, Dorothy Stevens (1886-1966). Documentary evidence tell us that Helen Lawson was the daughter of an Anglican clergyman, Frank Newton, and his wife, Mary. In 1909, Helen married Londoner Frank “Ray” Lawson, son of Frank Lawson of London’s Lawson and Jones Limited. So began her career as a wife and what a career it was! Helen was at her husband’s side as he worked to build the company that his father had co-founded with Harry Jones in 1882. She helped him weather the difficult years of the First World War (1914-1918). Later, they survived the economic hardships of the Great Depression. Helen’s public role as the wife of an influential businessman was to be a gracious hostess and guest. Behind the scenes, she ran their home and helped raise their son, Tom. During Ray’s tenure as Ontario’s Lieutenant-Governor from 1946 to 1952, Helen continued her role as the perfect hostess but on a far grander scale. At her husband’s side and on her own, as a glance through the Globe and Mail electronic archive shows, Helen hosted and attended countless official events. She may not have had a title, but she worked as hard as her husband who did! It was during this period that Dorothy Stevens painted Helen Lawson’s portrait. Celebrated Canadian artist Dorothy Stevens figures much more in the historical record. Born in Toronto to Benjamin Stevens and his wife Bertha, Dorothy began her artistic training when she was 15. She studied in England and France, developing an interest in etching. Indeed, in 1914, Dorothy was proclaimed the “most brilliant etcher Canada has ever known.” During the First World War, she participated in the Canadian War Memorials Fund, one of four women out of the 20 artists in the program. Her prints of men and women working in munitions plants, airplane construction, and shipbuilding met with critical acclaim. After the war, Dorothy built up her already-established reputation as a portraitist. Her depiction of Helen Lawson is evidence of her ability in this area. As with her portraits of other Canadian women of “more than average charm,” Dorothy captured Helen’s “beauty and vitality on canvas.” She depicts Helen in formal attire, the elegant clothing and accessories she wore when Ray donned his Lieutenant-Governor’s court uniform. As beautiful as it is, this was Helen’s work wear, and she was a working woman of whom much was expected. Dorothy’s depiction leaves no doubt that Helen delivered. Her direct look and slight smile suggest a confident woman of conviction and humour, a woman who knew her own worth. It seems to me that we get a far better feel for the kind of woman Helen Lawson was from this portrait than we do from any other source.

NamePastel