Self-portrait

In January 1921, A. Y. Jackson wrote to Eric Brown, director of the National Gallery of Canada: “The group here was formed largely through the efforts of Holgate.” In fact, Holgate, along with Adam Sherriff Scott, signed a three-year lease for the premises at 305 Beaver Hall Hill in October 1920. The Montreal group’s name henceforth was linked to the address of their studio and exhibition space. Holgate later became the only artist to receive an official invitation to join Toronto’s Group of Seven, which he accepted in 1929. He is depicted here in a tightly cropped composition with a female nude study behind him. In 1934, he and fellow painter Lilias Torrance Newton began teaching at the school of the Art Association of Montreal, which they helped revitalize.