Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/988313
Heritage Matters 35 A prolific painter, McCarthy up to the '70s showed often at galleries attached to department stores, universities and art societies such as the Ontario Society of Artists, of which she became the first female president in 1964. She chose to ignore the discrimination facing women artists, says Wacko: "She thought the best approach was to do the best job you can and don't waste time whining about it." McCarthy is not one to mope. When she realized raising a family wasn't in her future, she forged ahead – teaching, painting and expanding Fool's Paradise, which she purchased in 1939 and has bequeathed to the Ontario Heritage Foundation for use as an artists' retreat after her death. Retirement in 1972 freed her to paint full-time and fulfill her dream of visiting the Arctic, which inspired the famed Iceberg Fantasy series, her first foray into large-format painting. McCarthy's energy and work ethic was extraordinary, even into her 90s, says Wacko, who accompanied her on annual painting trips to Ireland, the Alberta badlands, and Italy: "We'd be up by six; if we weren't out by 8:30, she was cranky." During one trip to Tuscany, Wacko recalls, McCarthy was horrified when Wacko wanted to waste a morning shopping for Italian hand-painted dishes: "We finally had bad weather and she broke down and said 'okay.' " Often weather was brutal – so cold that when using watercolours, they had to add glycerine to the water to prevent it from freezing. "McCarthy taught me that," Wacko says. "You don't learn that in art school." McCarthy painted until five years ago, often precariously positioned on a step-ladder, producing what many regard as her finest work in her last decades. When an arthritic finger became bothersome, she had it cut off. As her eyesight diminished, her technique shifted: "It was far more about shape and tone and colour, less about detail," says Wacko. Never did she define herself as elderly. When looking for a gallery to represent her in the late '70s, she chose Wynick/Tuck, which had a roster of young artists. "She didn't want to be with the old guys," says Wynick. In 1989, at age 79, she received a B.A. in English from the University of Toronto and published the first of three well- received memoirs, which contributed to what friends refer to as the "cult of Doris." When her publisher wanted to use "old woman" in the title of the third, McCarthy prevailed. "I'm damned if I'm going to be old," she told the Globe and Mail. The book's final title: Ninety Years Wise. Even now, despite failing health, her optimistic spirit remains, says Wacko: "She told me, 'I'm so grateful for this extra time so I can lie in bed and remember all of the great adventures we had.'" The years brought McCarthy institutional honours, including an Order of Canada and five honorary doctorate degrees. Yet recognition by the art elite—public institutions and historians—has proven elusive, to her frustration. "The National Gallery doesn't own a thing of mine and it damn well should," she told the Globe and Mail in 1990. Since 2015, the Ontario Heritage Trust has run the Doris McCarthy Artist-in- Residence Program at Fool's Paradise – a unique, living and working incubator for visual artists, musicians and writers of all disciplines, offering privacy and opportunity for artists to concentrate on their work. For more information, visit heritagetrust.on.ca/dmair. Doris McCarthy 1910-2010. Photo: David Lee.