"Edmund Kean Reciting Before the Hurons." c.1826

Joseph Légaré (1795-1855)

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Joseph Légaré was born in Québec in 1795. He was a self-taught painter who produced over 250 oils on canvas or paper, was the first Canadian-born painter to concentrate on landscapes, taught Antoine Plamondon, and opened Canada's first art gallery in 1833. Légaré was also a Lower Canada nationalist: he was a founding member of the St.Jean-Baptiste Society in 1834, and was arested for his part in the Rebellions of 1837. Shortly before his death he was appointed to the Legislative Council.

"In September 1825, after some tumultuous and unhappy love affairs, the famous English actor Edmund Kean (1787-1825) left England for a tour the United States, where he had already played with some success. Hoping to mend both his reputation and his fortune, Kean performed in New York, Boston (where his appearance caused a riot), Philadelphia, Charleston, Baltimore, and in various other cities. The American public, very much aware of his misadventures, did not give him the welcome he had hoped for. On 31 July 1826, however, Edmund Kean opened at Montreal's Theatre Royal, which belonged to John Molson and had been open for less than a year. In sharp contrast to his treatment in the United States, he received a triumphal reception in Monreal.

"In Quebec City, the arrival of "the greatest actor of the century" was impatiently awaited, and prepared for by the newspapers who published his biography. Performances of Richard III and Othello were billed at the Royal Circus. Kean arrived in Quebec on 4 September 1826 and gave his first performance of Richard III that same evening. He played very successfully in several other plays but, alleging the mediocrity of the supporting actors, refused to play Hamlet on the last night, 4 October. He merely gave extracts from Thomas Otway's Venice Preserved . After the performance, the infuriated audience caused considerable material damage.

"On 5 October, Edmund Kean met four Huron chiefs and gave to each a medal made by a goldsmith called Smillie. In return, he was received into the Huron tribe under the name of Adanieouidet (or Alanienouidet) and was apparently given the Huron costume and arms. After leaving Quebec City, Kean travelled to New York and from thence to England, in December 1826. Both in New York and London, it amused him to wear his Huron costume and he was so proud of his Indian name that he had it engraved on the back of his visiting card. In London he had his portrait painted in Huron costume and had the result engraved. [This portrait hangs in London's Garrick Club, which inspired Marianne Ackerman's Venus of Dublin. The play premiered at the Centaur Theatre in Montreal, April 2000. Ackerman adapted Measure for Measure with Theatre 1774 in 1993.]

"Joseph Légaré's painting depicts the meeting of the actor with the Hurons" (Porter The Works of Joseph Légaré 32).

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Sources:

Porter, John R. The Works of Joseph Légaré: 1795-1855. Ottawa: The National Gallery of Canada, 1978.

Porter, John R. "Légaré, Joseph." The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2004.
<http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004617>.