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As a young woman, Laura Muntz immigrated to Canada with her family. Initially working as a school teacher, her passion for art led her to take classes at the Ontario School of Art, where she studied under notable painters of the time, including Lucius O’Brien and George Agnew Reid. In 1891, she set off for Paris on a seven-year scholarship to further study art. While in Europe she went on various excursions to see the works of the masters, and she became greatly influenced by the impressionist style. In Paris, she studied and exhibited at the renowned Académie Colarossi, becoming the first Canadian female artist to receive recognition abroad. She subsequently exhibited and medalled at several international exhibitions. At home, she was the first woman asked to exhibit with the Canadian Art Club, one of the first elected to the Royal Canadian Academy, and the first appointed to the executive council of the Ontario Society of Artists.
While there is a romanticism and idealized sensibility to her portraits, and children were certainly acceptable and typical subject matter for women at that time, Muntz had genuine interest in her young subjects. Her ability for insight to their inner life, and her capacity for care and understanding had served her well when she was a teacher and later, permitted her to take on raising her deceased sister’s eleven children. Laura Muntz Lyall’s ability to really see her young subjects both elevated and added depth to her portraits.
