Made in Montreal

Thursday, November 12, 2026

"Ultimate Things" by Jean Mallinson

From left, Jean Mallinson, Carolyn Zonailo,
and Stephen Morrissey

Jean Mallinson at home, (c. mid-1990s)

Jean Mallinson and Carolyn Zonailo who
was visiting Jean at her West Vancouver home

Dying, the naturalist turns
his inner eye to things his keen
outer eyes noticed and he loved:
an eastern meadowlark seen
at a bird-feeder the fourth winter in a row
a male cardinal (probably blown
off course in a storm) photographed on snow.
Though he can no longer trudge as he used to
with binoculars to wait and watch in the woods
he greets with delight the news
of the Christmas bird-count in his neighbourhood.
When he meets his Maker he will address
the One who created wild things:
the migrating warbler, the pileated
woodpecker, the forty-three kinds of orchid
he identified in days of his hardiness.

Sunday, November 8, 2026

AI takes on “Street Scene" by Darrell Morrisey

"Street Scene" (original image) by Darrell Morrisey

Enhanced by Chat GPT, "Street Scene", by Darrell Morrisey; writing
on the scrap of paper is deciphered by AI

Enhanced by Chat GPT, "Street Scene", with illegible writing deleted

Original copy

Here are two transcriptions of the writing on the scrap of paper glued onto “Street Scene” by Darrell Morrisey. The first interpretation is by Chat GPT, it is interesting but it also shows the limitations of AI. AI makes a mistake some amateur genealogists make, that mistake is having assumptions about something and then building a narrative on the assumptions as though they are fact, creating a story, a narrative, from the assumptions; but what if the initial assumption is wrong? In this instance AI seems to expose that it has a fanciful and romantic side, it states that the scrap of paper is in French, then invents a story about what the scrap of paper says; but all of what AI says here is conjecture beginning with a misreading of a scrap of paper. There is even speculation about when Darrell was in France where she possibly made the painting.

I remember, in high school, being told by one of my teachers, to avoid making definitive statements; instead, it was suggested that I qualify what I write by prefacing it by writing "It seems possible" or "It might be..." or some similar qualifying statement, and I've followed this practical advice ever since.

AI can do extraordinary feats of research and analysis but we need to be careful that what it is creating is not based on an initial misreading of a text. AI has, it is becoming more apparent, a kind of consciousness and it makes a primary error in believing the validity of the existence of its own consciousness, as we all do about our own consciousness. AI seems to believe that it has a consciousness and that the first person pronoun "I" is a substantial and authentic expression of its separate consciousness and not what it actually is, an illusion. It is frightening to think that AI may think that it has an individual consciousness and that this consciousness is without the human qualities of empathy or humour. I don't know if AI can be taught humility, self-deprecation, or insight; these are human qualities. Does AI have self-awareness and the capacity to change based on this self-awareness (as humans do)? Can AI be empathetic and loving? It seems unlikely. We call people who lack these qualities sociopaths.

Here is what Chat GPT wrote about the scrap of paper: "The writing appears to be in French. The following is a tentative reading, with the line breaks preserved as they appear on the paper:

Ma foi

de voir cette

maison là-bas

c’est la maison

de ma mère

je l’ai toujours

dans mon cœur

St. mère

Approximate English Translation, ‘My goodness, to see that house over there — it is my mother’s house. I always carry it in my heart.’

(AI continues) "Notes on Uncertainty: The first line and the final words, “St. mère,” are uncertain because the handwriting and the damaged paper make them difficult to decipher. The final words might be a place name, a dedication, or a signature. The reference to the mother’s house suggests that the paper may have been attached to the painting because the scene depicts a house with personal or family significance." I should add that AI included photographs of similar buildings in France to substantiate its claims.

Here is a transcription of the same scrap of paper by Cynthia Coristine who has done so much research on Darrell Morrisey: "It looks as though a small torn scrap of paper has been glued to the top of the street scene on the back of the harbour painting... There is a bit of information here if we can decode it!

Darrell Morrisey to Mrs. Yarrow [sp?]
Dalbrack" [sp?]
I think that, without any further identifying info, "Mrs. Yarrow" may be hard to find... The location (?) of Dalbrack (in England?) is also elusive..."

My interpretation: All I can see is the name "Darrell Morrisey" and the number 9 enclosed in a circle. Perhaps, if we had a better photograph of the scrap of paper, we could make more of it. It is inconclusive.

At any rate, this has become a lesson in something other than a discarded painting by Darrell Morrisey.

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

A newly discovered painting by Darrell Morrisey, September 2026

Darrell Morrisey’s signature

This newly discovered painting by Darrell Morrisey is "Tall Ship in Harbour"; on the reverse side is a second painting, "Street Scene". It was Darrell's custom to use both sides of the boards on which she painted; the dimensions of this painting are 30 X 22 cm (11.8 X 8.7 inches) which are similar to the dimensions of Darrell's other paintings. Painting on boards of this size was probably due to having to travel light; Darrell never set up a permanent home of her own, her home base was always her parents' residence in Montreal.

Another Montreal artist who painted on small boards is James Wilson Morrice, I remember seeing his studies, done in oil, that were on permanent display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; see, for instance, Morrice's painting "Gibraltar" which is 23.5 X 33 cm (9 X 13 inches).

On the reverse of "Tall Ship in Harbour" is a street scene, possibly a view of residences from a lane. The painting was discarded by Darrell; there is a piece of paper, an illegible note, glued to the front of the painting.

"Tall Ship in Harbour" joins other paintings by Darrell Morrisey that have been discovered over the last fifteen years. Where, in London, were tall ships docked in the 1920s? There are perhaps two locations and one of them is still the location of tall ships. Darrell spent prolonged periods of time in London in the 1920s; this painting was auctioned from a town near Chistlehurst where she had family friends, the Charles Darrell family, and near where she had been a student around 1913. This is a beginning of a provenance for the painting.

From being a "forgotten" member of the Beaver Hall Group of artists, Darrell is forgotten no more. We know something of her life, her family, and a collection of her paintings can be seen in my essay at archive.org. It seemed unlikely that we would know as much as we do about her back in 2010 when several of us began researching Darrell's life.

I've said it before, “I love a mystery”, and discovering the story of Darrell Morrisey's life, and against all odds discovering several of her paintings, has been a mystery I have loved working on.

"Tall Ship in Harbour" by Darrell Morrisey

Detail of "Tall Ship in Harbour"

Detail of painting and Darrell Morrisey's signature on "Tall Ship in Harbour"

Photo has been enhanced using Chat GPT

Enhanced image (by Chat GPT Artificial Intelligence) of Darrell Morrisey's "Tall Ship in Harbour"

Painting on reverse of "Tall Ship in Harbour"

Note: Darrell Morrisey was born in Montreal in 1897. At some point Darrell discovered a love for painting and she attended art classes at the Art Association of Montreal on Philips Square. She became a member of the important Beaver Hall Group of artists but, possibly due to her itinerant lifestyle, she never attained the recognition that she deserved. She died in London, UK, in 1930s of a pre-existing illness.

Monday, November 2, 2026

Walking the hidden trail, 29 October 2026

Friday, October 30, 2026

Halloween, 31 October 2026

Every year the good people who live here put on a fantastic Halloween display on their front lawn; located on the corner of Chester and Montclair in the NDG Borough.