Prudence Heward’s
Modern Women

Curated by Julia Skelly

Painting by Prudence Heward of two women seated in a crowd at the theatre. They are seen from behind, hair tied up and dressed in evening gowns, and one is looking at a paper in her right hand.

Celebrated for her sculptural forms, defiant figures, and expressionistic colours, Prudence Heward (1896–1947) created provocative representations of female subjects. A central figure in the Montreal scene during the 1920s through to the 1940s, she was an avant-garde Canadian artist, employing principles of European modernism. Known for her feminist themes and critiqued for her depictions of black women, Heward remains one of the most innovative Canadian artists of her time. For more on Prudence Heward read Julia Skelly’s Prudence Heward: Life & Work.

About the Curator: Julia Skelly

Julia Skelly received a PhD from Queen’s University, and she teaches in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies at McGill University. She is the author of Addiction and British Visual Culture, 1751–1919: Wasted Looks (2014) and Radical Decadence: Excess in Contemporary Feminist Textiles and Craft (2017).

Banner Image: Prudence Heward, At the Theatre (detail), 1928, oil on canvas, 101.6 x 101.6 cm, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.