Yulia Biriukova St. Petersburg 1897-1972 Toronto The Riverman, Frenchy Renaud 1935
After Yulia Biriukova arrived in Toronto from the USSR with her architect sister Alexandra in 1929, she was quickly swept into the circle of the Group of Seven, becoming the companion of J.E.H. MacDonald’s son, Thoreau. She revelled in the esthetics of the male form – particularly the husky Canadian “types” of her newfound homeland. She copied her background view from a 1911 sketch by MacDonald, but the sitter himself, and the strategically placed axe handle, could well have been a confection of her imagination.
Yulia Biriukova St. Petersburg 1897-1972 Toronto The Riverman, Frenchy Renaud 1935
After Yulia Biriukova arrived in Toronto from the USSR with her architect sister Alexandra in 1929, she was quickly swept into the circle of the Group of Seven, becoming the companion of J.E.H. MacDonald’s son, Thoreau. She revelled in the esthetics of the male form – particularly the husky Canadian “types” of her newfound homeland. She copied her background view from a 1911 sketch by MacDonald, but the sitter himself, and the strategically placed axe handle, could well have been a confection of her imagination.