John Wentworth Russell

John Wentworth Russell (1879–1959) was a Canadian painter with a wide range of subjects and media – portraits (child subjects were a specialty of his), landscapes, still life, and the nude as well as illustrations for magazines, such as Vogue. Russell’s large (243.8 x 218.4 cm) painting A Modern Fantasy, of a reclining female nude echoing Titian but realistically depicted and wearing a hat, caused a sensation when shown at the Canadian National Exhibition (C.N.E.) in Toronto in 1927. Although many adverse comments were published, Prime Minister Mackenzie King stated of the work: "1 saw the painting at the Ex and thought it a marvelous work.