CCCA Canadian Art Database

Barbara McGivern

Barbara McGivern

Barbara McGivern, also known as The Gold Lady, was a Canadian artist from Toronto, Ontario. One of her best known series is The Extraordinary Journey. The series was inspired by her trips through the deserts of Oman and Saudi Arabia, when she began incorporating the use of gold leaf into her work. Her style is most notable for presenting gold as a colour rather than as a precious metal. Her paintings are in private and corporate collections in Canada, Europe and the Middle East. In 1971 she went to Europe, for five years. Settling in London in the fall of 1974 she became a member of both The Arts Club and Chelsea Arts Club. Returning to Toronto in 1976 she worked with Columbia Pictures Television until 1981 when they stopped producing TV programs. McGivern then started painting at her first art studio in downtown Toronto. Her work at that time was mostly naive and was inspired by the English artist Beryl Cook. Around that time she got accepted by the Ontario College of Art and Design she studied under Canadian artists such as Graham Coughtry and Ian Carr-Harris. She graduated in 1988 in Experimental Arts at OCAD. In 1992 McGivern went to Russia where she saw works by the Impressionist artist Matisse at the Hermitage and Fernando Botero at the Pushkin, Moscow. During the same trip she saw the Barnes Collection at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. She produced a series of paintings based on Impressionist works, with her own interpretation of The Barnes Collection, which was later shown at Musee Hotel Baudy in Giverny. Throughout the 90's McGivern was represented by galleries in Yorkville, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton as well as Zurich, Berlin, London, Paris and Madrid. In 1996 McGivern went on an off-road driving trip across the Middle East, following the British adventurer Wilfred Thesiger's path through the deserts of Oman and Saudi Arabia, covering 3,000 miles in eight days. While driving through the deserts she was amazed with the colours she saw and the richness of the sands which opened up a new concept to her work, where her acrylic paintings now recounted the deserts from a Canadian prospective, using gold as a colour as opposed to a precious metal.
Creator Id: 417
Social Media Link: Social Media Link
Web Site Link: Web Site Link
Virtual Collection: Original CCCA
Country of Birth: Canada
Province of Birth: Ontario
Year of Birth: 1945
City: Toronto
Country: Canada
Type of Creator: Artist
Gender: Female
Living Status: Deceased
Mediums: painting
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Work by Barbara McGivern

Garden Series in Blue & Red

Work ID: 2785

Measurements: 152.4 x 152.4 cm

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Olga’s

Work ID: 2788

Measurements: 182.88 x 152.4 cm

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Peryia

Work ID: 2781

Measurements: 152.4 x 86.36 cm

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Walk Walk, Talk Talk

Work ID: 2778

Measurements: 152.4 x 121.92 cm

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Landscape in Green

Work ID: 2782

Measurements: 152.4 x 152.4 cm

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Once Again He Has Given His Call

Work ID: 2779

Measurements: 152.4 x 121.92 cm

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Landscape in Green & Gold

Work ID: 2784

Measurements: 91.44 x 152.4 cm

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Dragons

Work ID: 3950

Measurements: 91.44 x 137.16 cm

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Homage to a Fisherman (Manet)

Work ID: 2755

Description: From: The Barnes Collection series.

Measurements: 106.68 x 106.68 cm

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Ginger Jar with Fruit (Cezanne)

Work ID: 2749

Description: From: The Barnes Collection series.

Measurements: 106.68 x 106.68 cm

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Odalisque (Matisse)

Work ID: 2775

Description: From: The Barnes Collection series.

Measurements: 121.92 x 121.92 cm

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Homage to Modigliani (Modigliani)

Work ID: 2777

Description: From: The Barnes Collection series.

Measurements: 152.4 x 121.92 cm

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Beato Meets Cezanne (Cezanne)

Work ID: 2773

Description: From: The Barnes Collection series.

Measurements: 121.92 x 182.88 cm

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The Moroccan (Matisse)

Work ID: 2774

Description: From: The Barnes Collection series.

Measurements: 121.92 x 121.92 cm

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Reclining Bubblegum Lady (Modigliani)

Work ID: 2776

Description: From: The Barnes Collection series.

Measurements: 91.44 x 121.92 cm

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The Peasant (Picasso)

Work ID: 2747

Description: From: The Barnes Collection series.

Measurements: 152.4 x 152.4 cm

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Take it All

Work ID: 2743

Description: From: An Evening in the Eastend series.

Measurements: 91.44 x 152.4 cm

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49 & Still Standing

Work ID: 2744

Description: From: An Evening in the Eastend series.

Measurements: 91.44 x 91.44 cm

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Bab’s Return

Work ID: 2739

Description: From: An Evening in the Eastend series.

Measurements: 121.92 x 121.92 cm

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Rumble in the Park

Work ID: 2740

Description: From: An Evening in the Eastend series.

Measurements: 106.68 x 106.68 cm

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Shades of the 70’s

Work ID: 2741

Description: From: An Evening in the Eastend series.

Measurements: 198.12 x 213.36 cm

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An Evening in the Eastend

Work ID: 2745

Description: From: An Evening in the Eastend series.

Measurements: 106.68 x 106.68 cm

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Bab’s in Cyberspace

Work ID: 2738

Description: From: An Evening in the Eastend series.

Measurements: 121.92 x 121.92 cm

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Articulated Sophistication

Work ID: 2742

Description: From: An Evening in the Eastend series.

Measurements: 121.92 x 152.4 cm

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22/50 Club

Work ID: 2681

Description: From: Extraordinary Journey series.

Measurements: 152.4 x 121.92 cm

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From Frankincense to Myrhh

Work ID: 2680

Description: From: Extraordinary Journey series.

Measurements: 162.56 x 170.18 cm

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Disco Red

Work ID: 2678

Description: From: Extraordinary Journey series.

Measurements: 121.92 x 121.92 cm

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Golden Pond

Work ID: 3935

Measurements: 104.14 x 129.54 cm

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Cartier

Work ID: 3943

Measurements: 121.92 x 121.92 cm

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Everything I Need

Work ID: 3949

Measurements: 106.68 x 106.68 cm

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Study

Work ID: 3937

Measurements: 60.96 x 60.96 cm

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Emergence

Work ID: 3936

Measurements: 121.92 x 152.4 cm

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Surreally Sophisticated

Work ID: 3946

Measurements: 106.68 x 106.68 cm

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Sunnydays

Work ID: 3945

Measurements: 106.68 x 106.68 cm

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The Sandman Cometh

Work ID: 3941

Measurements: 137.16 x 91.44 cm

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Promise

Work ID: 3948

Measurements: 182.88 x 152.4 cm

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Ireland

Work ID: 3938

Measurements: 60.96 x 91.44 cm

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Porky Goes to Hollywood

Work ID: 3942

Measurements: 121.92 x 121.92 cm

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Olive or Twist

Work ID: 3940

Measurements: 152.4 x 121.92 cm

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Niagara.com

Work ID: 3944

Measurements: 152.4 x 91.44 cm

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Garden

Work ID: 3939

Measurements: 91.44 x 152.4 cm

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One Gold Square

Work ID: 3947

Measurements: 121.92 x 121.92 cm

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