John Goodwin Lyman (29 Sept. 1886 - 26 May 1967); American-born Canadian modernist painter active largely in Montreal, Quebec. In the 1930s he did much to promote modern art in Canada, founding the Contemporary Art Society in 1939. Stylistically he opposed both the Group of Seven and the Canadian Group of Painters, painting in a more "refined" style influenced by the School of Paris. Lyman was born in Biddeford, Maine. His parents were Americans who emigrated to Victoria, BC. After spending 2 years at McGill University, Lyman departed for Paris in spring of 1907.... and enrolled at the Academie Matisse in fall 1909, which he left due to illness the next spring, returning to Montreal in summer 1910. Despite the brevity of his encounter with the master, Matisse would be a primary influence on Lyman... Matisse, and other Fauvist painters, were the primary influence upon Lyman's work. His paintings were among the first in this style to be exhibited in Quebec, and his exhibit openings were met with derision in the popular press. In the 1920s, however, Lyman's work was more readily accepted. This was partly because of greater public exposure to modern art from Europe, and partly because of a change in Lyman's painting style. While strongly influenced by Fauvism, Lyman's work is characterized by an "emotional reserve" and "psychological distance" out of keeping with that movement. His mature work does not stray far from Matisse in terms of subject matter (portraits, nudes, etc.), but displays relatively muted colors and smooth paint-handling. Woman With a White Collar especially shows this mixture of Fauvist influence with Lyman's "calm, classical" personal style. It can be compared with similar portraits by Matisse in its handling of the facial planes and the somewhat arbitrary use of color, but displays a "prim and static elegance" in its contrast of the solidly formed head against the neutral background. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Goodwin_Lyman) undefined

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