Student Collection

From the late 1940s until the mid 1960s, Mount Allison University students in Fine Arts were required to paint a self-portrait in their fourth year, which they then submitted as their “Diploma Piece” before receiving the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. The portraits were to be life-sized, painted in oil on canvas or board, and measure 40 x 30 inches. An important archive of the Fine Arts Department, this collection consists of approximately fifty paintings that are now permanently housed at the Owens Art Gallery.

Seven life sized self-portraits hang on two walls in the gallery lobby. In the centre of the room is a child-size table with stools.
A woman wearing a dark grey dress over a black turtleneck sits on a low chair in the center of a painting. She looks out at the viewer directly with a relaxed expression wearing black cat-eye glasses. Her brown hair is tied up, and one of her arms hangs casually in front of her body, while the other reaches up to hold it at the elbow. The wall behind her is divided in half horizontally by a white band, with the top half of the wall painted a pale green and the bottom painted brown.
A young man is painted simply in flat colours and shapes. He stands facing forward with a relaxed smile, holding his hands loosely in front of him. He has short dark hair, and wears a long sleeved pale yellow tunic buttoned up the front, with a matching patterned scarf draped over his shoulders.
Shirley sits looking directly at the viewer, wearing a white collared shirt, red cardigan and grey skirt. Her right hand rests on her lap. Behind her, the background is painted grey with a lighter spotlight in the upper left corner.
Against a flat grey background, a man sits wearing a red button up shirt. He stares slightly above the viewer while his right arm rests on his leg.
A woman A woman wearing a white blouse with a rounded collar stares intently out at the viewer. Her hands are placed on crossed legs, covered with a dark mauve skirt. The background behind here is green with stokes of orange and yellow. a white blouse with a rounded collar stares intently out at the viewer. Her hands are placed on crossed legs, covered with a dark mauve skirt.
Against a dark red background, a man wearing a white crewneck sweater poses with his right hand on his hip, and his left behind his back. Hi head tilts to the left.