The Life and Art of Helen Haszard

CulturePrince Edward Island

Date2020

DimensionsOther: 0.3 x 18 x 22 cm (1/8 x 7 1/16 x 8 11/16 in.)

Object numberHF.2023.38.7

DescriptionA thin soft-cover book with stapled spine. The title, “The Life and Art of Helen Haszard”, is positioned at the top center below which is an image of a painting showing a beach scene with grass topped sand dunes in the foreground and a small bird coasting above blue and white waves in the background. At the bottom of the front cover is a dark green bar at the center of which is printed “by Catherine Hennessey”. The back cover features an image of a child wearing a green and white handkerchief on her head standing with a bunch of flowers in her left hand and a basket full of flowers hanging off her right arm. In the bottom right of the image can be seen “H Haszard”. The interior of the book has 19 pages of text, black and white photos, and colour images.
Narrative

Helen Haszard (b. 1890, d. 1970) was born in Charlottetown to Edith Stowe Moore and George Herbert Haszard who owned Haszard & Moore, a printing and binding business. Helen’s early interest in art began at the Notre Dame Convent where she received art lessons from the resident nuns. Her studies continued in Boston in 1912-13. In the 1920s, she moved to Toronto where she kept an art studio and advertised painting lessons and basket weaving. Haszard returned to PEI each summer where she sold her artworks in the Cavendish area. Her strong use of colour and skill at capturing the Island’s landscapes cost her the job of illustrating Island author L. M. Montgomery’s books as the publishers claimed the colours represented in the scenery to be untrue. Haszard was influenced by the artistic styles of the Group of Seven. Her style of painting similarly captures an enthusiastic passion and nationalism for the province's landscapes.

Catherine Hennessey (nee. Smith) was the first executive director of the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation in the 1970s and served in the position for 10 years. In 2000, Catherine was awarded an Order of Canada, which recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.