First HandHOME / VISUAL ARTS - BY SANDY KOWALIK / 2. THE SOJOURNERS / a. Mary Allison Doull Mary Allison Doull broke trail for the 20th century's Island women artists. Her ambition led her beyond the well-tread matrimonial path of her time to the art circles of New York and Paris.
Mary was born in Wilmot Valley, the thirteenth of cabinet-maker George Doull and Hannah Butcher's 14 children. Mary's uncle, Mark Butcher, was PEI's most famous cabinet maker. Her later art was grounded in this family tradition of good design and excellence in craft.
Mary attended Mount Allison Wesleyan Ladies College and Conservatory of Music in 1888, and, after teaching back on the Island for three years, returned to study under John Hammond, RCA. In 1894, she headed to the National Academy of Design in New York, with sister Maria Patience, to study painting and pottery. It was here she was exposed to the miniature revival, and, in time, became well known in New York as an accomplished miniaturist. Doull's most subtle and sensitive works were her portraits and still lifes painted on small pieces of ivory.
In 1894, Doull set up a Fifth Avenue painting/teaching studio and immersed herself in the New York art world. As a member of the Catharine Loriland Wolfe Art Students League and The New York Pen and Brush Club, she had contact with most rising artists of her day. But Mary always retained her ties to the Island, coming back "home" most summers to work and teach. She influenced many girls and women, some of whom, most notably Georgie Read Barton, went on to become professional artists and teachers in their own right.
Mary Allison Doull was one of the 200 or more Canadian artists, including Emily Carr and James Wilson Morrice, who made the trip to Paris before the First World War. At the age of 44 she studied at the Academie Julien and travelled to Italy. Her paintings were shown at the Expositions Annuelles des Beaux Art in 1910, 1911, and 1912.
Doull was also active in the United States, showing with New York Watercolour Club in 1911 and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in 1912. She was perhaps the only Islander ever to become a member of the Women's Art Association of Canada (WAAC), the oldest organization of its kind in the world.
The WAAC was established in 1897 to "develop the art and crafts, primarily for the building of the nation; and then for the benefit of the corporation and the community, which endeavours, in turn, to benefit the individual members of the association, through its efforts to help others" (see Harper). This idea of service to others is a theme common to most women artists throughout the century. Not only did they create their own art, but through teaching and building organizations, they nurtured the growth of art in their communities.
In 1920, Doull set up a home and studio in Cape Traverse, PEI, permanently retiring here in 1928. She began experimenting with hand-building pottery, tiles, and sculpture made from Island clay. Arthritis in later years forced her to give up painting altogether, and clay became her primary medium. It is interesting to note that at the same time, on the other side of Canada, Emily Carr was also creating small clay items for the tourist market.
Mary Allison Doull, PEI's first professional woman artist, died in 1953 at the age of 87.
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