16 Facts About Miller Brittain

Miller Gore Brittain was a Canadian artist from Saint John, New Brunswick.

Miller Brittain was largely known for creating paintings and drawings encapsulating social realism.

Miller Gore Brittain was born on November 12,1912, in Saint John, New Brunswick, to parents James Firth Brittain and Margaret Bartlett Lord.

Miller Brittain was educated at the Saint John Vocational School, where he took art classes.

Miller Brittain studied art under Harry Wickey in New York City.

Miller Brittain was an icon of the Saint John arts community and presence is still felt in the city's arts scene today.

Miller Brittain's work broke from the style current at the time of the Group of Seven when landscapes dominated Canada's art scene.

Miller Brittain focused on working class life in his hometown of Saint John with his signature style of social realism.

Miller Brittain was a founding member of the Federation of Canadian Artists in 1941.

Miller Brittain was commissioned in November 1944 and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

In 1947, Miller Brittain won a prize from the Canadian Society of Graphic Art and the next year he held two one-person shows at St John in the New Brunswick Museum and in Dayton, Ohio, at the Dayton Museum.

Miller Brittain was devastated by her death from cancer seven years later and was treated several times for alcoholism in his later life.

Miller Brittain later died following an illness at the age of 55 on January 21,1968, in the Saint John General Hospital.

In 1968, Miller Brittain was awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal posthumously for his contribution to Canadian art.

Miller Brittain's work is held in private collections and a number of art galleries in Canada including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian War Museum and a retrospective of his work has been held at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia which travelled to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

In 1983,11 cartoon works done by Miller Brittain were donated to the New Brunswick Museum by his daughter, Jennifer Miller Brittain.