Artwork:
Ettie Richler Prazoff. Matriarch. Etching. No date.
In Matriarch, Ettie Richler Prazoff creates a deeply evocative portrait that transcends simple likeness to become a meditation on memory, dignity, and human presence. The seated figure, rendered in soft sepia-gray tones, emerges from an undefined space with quiet, introspective authority. Prazoff’s subtle modulation of light and shadow, combined with the print’s almost photographic quality, makes the image seem as though it were suspended between recollection and reality. The sitter’s direct, unembellished presence conveys both resilience and vulnerability, transforming an intimate portrait into a universal reflection on age, endurance, and personal history.
Artist:
1921-1992 → Ettie Richler Prazoff was a Montreal-based artist whose work centered on the human figure and the emotional resonance of everyday experience. Originally a painter, she became devoted to etching in the early 1970s. Her prints—often hand-colored with pastels, colored pencils, or watercolor—are distinguished by their tenderness, quiet observation, and psychological depth. Intrigued by what she called the “mystery of a turned head,” Prazoff drew inspiration from the people around her. Her etchings have also been informed by travel, including series inspired by visits to Colombia and the Yukon, though her focus increasingly shifted from landscape to portraiture as her feelings about people became central to her artistic vision.
Born and raised in Montreal, Prazoff drew from childhood and began painting in 1935. She received her first formal art education at Baron Byng High School under artist and teacher Anne Savage and continued her studies throughout adulthood while raising a family. In 1967, she enrolled in the Fine Arts degree program at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University), later pursuing etching studies at the Saidye Bronfman Centre. Her artistic recognition grew significantly in the late 1970s, leading to solo exhibitions in Montreal, Edmonton, Kingston, Ottawa, and other Canadian cities. Her work was exhibited internationally in juried print exhibitions in Brazil and the US and is represented in numerous public collections, including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, BC and the London Regional Art Gallery (now Museum London), London, Ontario.
Deep Dive:
More on Anne Savage.
A short history of Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University).
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts website.
Burnaby Art Gallery website.
Museum London website.
Foundation:
The Canadian Art Preservation Foundation posts short biographies and information on artists and artwork from its collection in a not-so-subtle attempt to capture your attention and interest in our mission, but we also just want to keep this artwork in view. We are excited about the art we collect and want to share it with you.
CAPF is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the artwork of Canada’s superstar artists for future generations to examine, study and exhibit – the ones you know and the ones you might not know so well. We accept artwork, journals, notes, letters, exhibition catalogues and anything else that might comprise a visual and/or intellectual “portrait” (ahem, please pardon the pun) of a particular artist.
View more artwork from our CAPF Collection and if you’d like, Donate Here.
We archive, preserve and promote Canadian art.
