Molly Lamb Bobak b. 1920

Roberts Gallery, Toronto

Private Collection, Ontario

Molly Lamb Bobak is a pioneer in the field of Canadian women artists. As one of the first to make her way as a professional in the world of Canadian art, Bobak has left her mark as a painter, teacher and cultural critic. Over the course of her trail blazing career, Bobak served in the Canadian Women's Army Corps (C.W.A.C.) during WWII, became Canada's first official female war artist, taught art across the country and travelled the world – all the while maintaining an unwavering commitment to her own art practice.

Her passion for painting was ignited early while studying at the Vancouver Art School under the tutelage of her mentor and artist friend, Jack Shadbolt. In recalling his influence Bobak observed, "He was brought in as a teacher and I never looked back...When he came to the school, I knew exactly what I wanted to do forever." 

After years abroad and on Canada's west coast, Bobak and her family settled permanently in Fredericton, New Brunswick, in 1961. Saint John II was almost certainly painted after this move. Reflecting on her life in this maritime province, Bobak has said that Saint John is the place that inspires her most.

The formal approach to Saint John II is characteristic of Molly Lamb's mature work. Movement is a central element. Her gestural impression of this winter urbanscape provides the viewer with her unmediated sense of the city's vitality – vibrating in perfect harmony. The work is a window into her lived rather than observed experience and celebratory of what Jack Shadbolt called "the everyday poetry of life".

LITERATURE
Brian Foss, Molly Lamb Bobak: A retrospective une rétrospective, MacKenzie Art Gallery, 1993, pp. 31 and 50