Helen McNicoll’s Easter Lillies at the National Gallery of Canada
Helen McNicoll (1879–1915) was one of Canada’s foremost Impressionist painters, celebrated for her luminous depictions of everyday life and her remarkable ability to capture fleeting moments with freshness and immediacy. Working at a time when women artists faced significant social and professional barriers, McNicoll built her reputation through masterful studies of light and atmosphere, portraying women and children outdoors—reading, resting, wandering, and moving through the world with striking freedom and ease.
Encouraged early on by her Montreal teacher William Brymner to work directly from nature, McNicoll refined her practice in London, Paris, and St. Ives, where she painted en plein air alongside her lifelong friend and fellow artist Dorothea Sharp. Though her career was tragically brief, she became a pioneering figure in Canadian art, gaining international recognition during her lifetime and leaving a legacy that continues to inspire.
Easter Lilies, c. 1907, is a quintessential McNicoll work. A young girl, immersed in a sea of blooms, is caught in an entirely unselfconscious moment—a fleeting encounter transformed into a timeless meditation on childhood, nature, and light. Though created more than a century ago, the painting feels both intimate and immediate, a luminous celebration of everyday life and a quietly radical vision of female independence.
The McMichael is proud to have loaned works from our collection—including Easter Lilies—to Helen McNicoll: An Impressionist Journey, now on view at the National Gallery of Canada through October 12, 2026. Organized by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, this landmark exhibition is the most comprehensive solo presentation of McNicoll’s work since a memorial show in Montreal in 1925, bringing together more than sixty works from public and private collections, including many rarely seen paintings. We are delighted that Easter Lilies and others from the McMichael’s collection are part of this important occasion, ensuring that McNicoll’s legacy continues to reach new audiences.
Helen McNicoll (1879–1915)
Beneath the Trees
oil on canvas
60 x 49.5 cm
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Gift of Hubert B. Sceats
1995.30.1
Helen McNicoll (1879–1915)
Cherry Time
c. 1912
oil on canvas
81.7 x 66.4 cm
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Gift of Hubert B. Sceats
1995.30.3
Helen McNicoll (1879–1915)
Easter Lilies
c. 1907
oil on canvas
54 x 43.4 cm
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Andrée Rhéaume Fitzhenry and Robert Fitzhenry Gift
2019.4.35
Helen McNicoll: An Impressionist Journey on view at the National Gallery of Canada, 2026.
Helen McNicoll: An Impressionist Journey on view at the National Gallery of Canada, 2026.
Helen McNicoll: An Impressionist Journey on view at the National Gallery of Canada, 2026.
related articles
Northern Lights at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum
November 6, 2025Featuring 74 extraordinary works created between 1888 and 1937, Northern Lights unites visionary Canadian artists Emily Carr, Lawren S. Harris, and Tom Thomson with European masters such as Hilma af Klint and Edvard Munch.
Rajni Perera: Futures at the Dorothy McCarthy Gallery
November 9, 2025This fall, the McMichael is delighted to see Rajni Perera: Futures presented at the Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, the latest stop on a national tour showcasing the groundbreaking work of one of Canada’s most compelling contemporary artists.
River of Dreams at the Canadian Museum of History
December 23, 2025On November 20, 2025, towering totem poles watched over a crowd of more than 700 guests gathered in the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, to celebrate the opening of River of Dreams.
Meryl McMaster: Bloodline at the McMaster Museum of Art
February 8, 2026This past fall and into spring, the exhibition Meryl McMaster: Bloodline continues its tour with a presentation at the McMaster Museum of Art in Hamilton.
Winter Count at the National Gallery of Canada
February 2, 2026The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa has opened its new exhibition, Winter Count: Embracing the Cold, a sweeping exploration of winter’s deep cultural, historical, and artistic significance.
David Hartman Profiles Rajni Perera’s Practice in New Short Film
March 4, 2026In this new short film directed by David Hartman, we spend time with the Toronto-based artist Rajni Perera in her studio, tracing the ideas and influences that shape her practice.
That Green Ideal: Emily Carr and the Idea of Nature at the Vancouver Art Gallery
March 10, 2026Curator John Geoghegan visits That Green Ideal: Emily Carr and the Idea of Nature at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Excerpt from People of the Watershed: Photographs by John Macfie
April 1, 2026People of the Watershed brings John Macfie’s photographs of northern Indigenous communities into focus—discover how this intimate and far-reaching project captures lives, relationships, and a moment of profound change.
Rita Leistner: The Tree Planters at Kelowna Art Gallery
April 1, 2026Now on tour, Rita Leistner: The Tree Planters offers a striking look into the demanding world of reforestation—explore how these powerful photographs capture endurance, landscape, and the human stories behind Canada’s forests.
From Kleinburg to Venice: McMichael Collaborators at the 2026 Biennale
May 7, 2026As the 2026 Venice Biennale opens, this article highlights Canadian artists with close ties to the McMichael whose work is part of the international exhibition. From Bonnie Devine to Abbas Akhavan, discover how these artists’ practices connect conversations taking place at the McMichael to the global contemporary art stage.