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. 

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 "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.

Hubert Darrell and Darrell Morrisey, the Two Darrells

 

Anyone following my work knows of my interest in the "forgotten" Beaver Hall Group artist Darrell Morrisey. I thought that I had written what I wanted to say about Darrell Morrisey and then I read Adam Shoalts's Vanished Beyond the Map: The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell and I
realized that a little more needed to be said on Darrell Morrisey. Hubert Darrell, who explored and mapped parts of Canada's far north, is the son of Charles Darrell after whom, coincidentally, Darrell Morrisey was named. In 1890 Hubert Darrell moved to Birtle, Manitoba and several years later he began his exploration and mapping of Canada's far north. Darrell Morrisey was an artist and member of the prestigious Beaver Hall Group of artists. The two Darrells never met and, tragically, they both died young, but they lived true to their inner calling, one that was far removed from the expectations of their families and social class. Here is the essay, THE TWO DARRELLS, HUBERT DARRELL AND DARRELL MORRISEY.

Adam Shoalts on Hubert Darrell, explorer

I highly recommend Adam Shoalts’ new book, Vanished Beyond the Map, The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell (2025). What a great book; largely a mystery (discovering the life story and possible fate of Hubert Darrell, an explorer of Canada's far north), it is also a celebration of Canada's north, and it is fascinating to read of the people who were Hubert Darrell's contemporaries.

Hubert Darrell is the son of Charles Darrell after whom the Montreal-born Beaver Hall artist, Darrell Morrisey, was named. Darrell Morrisey's father, T.L. Morrisey, was a business colleague of Charles Darrell. Here is more information on Darrell Morrisey. Below is possibly the only existing photograph of Hubert Darrell;

Hubert Darrell

Hubert Darrell

Note: Image restored and colourized by Chat GPT.

Darrell Morrisey and "Les secrets de la bonne cuisine"

Darrell's drawing for this advertisement, for Les secrets de la bonne cuisine,
was published in La Presse on 22 October 1928

Darrell Morrisey's drawing, see top right hand corner

In 1927 Darrell Morrisey produced an advertisement for what became a popular cookbook, Les secrets de la bonne cuisine (1928) compiled and written by Sister Sainte-Marie Edith (1876-1949) whose secular name is Mary Theodora Turner, of la Congrégation de Notre-Dame (CDN) located at 2330 Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC. Sr. Sainte-Marie was the director of the school for home economics which included cooking classes taught by Sr. Sainte-Marie; the book was also published in English. The book has been reprinted and second hand copies of the original book are available online, it can also be read or downloaded in its entirety on the Internet Archive website. Darrell Morrisey was a member of the Beaver Hall Group of artists; she was born in 1897 and died in 1930.

"Les secrets de la bonne cuisine"

Title page: Les Secrets de la Bonne Cuisine: Contenant La Substance Des Cours
de Cuisine Donnés À l'Ecole Ménagère (Congrégation de Notre-Dame)
de Montréal, Avec Plus de 1500 Recettes, Toutes Mises À l'Épreuve
Dans La Cuisine de l'École.

The secrets of good cooking (English version) by Soeur Sainte-Marie-Édith
(Mary Theodora Turner), Montréal, Canadian Printing and Lithographing
Company, 309 pages, 1928. Archives: Congrégation de Notre-Dame, Montréal.

Is this Sr. Sainte-Marie Edith's birth family?

Just out of interest (and thoroughness) I tried to find Sr. Sainte-Marie Edith birth family in the 1881 Canadian Census using her name, Mary Theodora Turner; there were several entries for "Mary Turner", each was age five years old. The family that seemed the most likely to be Sr. Sainte-Marie Edith's family lived in Addington, Restigouche County, New Brunswick; the family is listed as being Roman Catholic; they were also described as "Francaise" as their nationality but I am not sure if this means French-speaking (Restigouche, New Brunswick, has a large French-speaking population) or that the family was originally, or second generation, from France; the family have Anglophone given names but they could easily be anglicized French name; family members included: David (the father), age 42; Aleva (the mother), age either 26 or 36; William (son), age 10; Edward (son), age 9; Mary (daughter), age 5 and therefore born in 1876 as was Sr. Sainte-Marie; and George (son), age one year. What suggests that this might be Sr. Sainte-Marie's birth family are two things: Mary Turner's second name, "Theodora", is an unusual name, it is unlike more traditional English or French Canadian names for that time; and Mary Turner's mother's name is also not traditional, it is "Aleva", a name that I have not previously encountered. That said, one of my New Brunswick ancestors also has a name that I am not familiar with; John Veraker Morrissy, was born in Miramichi, NB, and became a Member of Parliament in Ottawa, I have never heard of the name "Veraker" other than in reference to him.

The above image is not from the Mother House of the Congregation of Notre Dame but
should give an idea of what the CDN cooking classes, in this instance at the college
Marguerite Bourgeoys, were like.

Sr. Sainte-Marie Edith conducted cooking classes and was director of the school for home economics at the Congregation of Notre Dame. Across the street was the Mother House, also a part of the CDN, where young girls were educated in secretarial science; I am not sure if buildings on both sides of Atwater Avenue were known as the Mother House. This was a prominent post-secondary school in its time; for instance, after attending the High School of Montreal, my mother learned typing, short hand, what we now call “secretarial science”, at the Mother House, it was excellent preparation for employment. Students were both French and English speaking, as were many of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame. Sr. Sainte-Marie Edith's cookbook appealed to the average homemaker; recipes are prefaced with questions students might have asked about the recipes, as we say today, it was "user friendly". Use of the commercial product, Crisco, is common in the book. Many girls, both English and French speaking, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, were welcomed and attended the courses given by the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame.

It seems to me that Darrell Morrisey found a friendly environment at the Congregation de Notre Dame. Her father, Thomas Louis Morrisey, was born into the Roman Catholic faith but converted to the Church of England when he married, in those days this was advantageous for upward social mobility and professional advancement in business.

L'église Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, the church that Darrell Morrisey painted

L'église Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, this is  approximately where Darrell
Morrisey painted the church almost a century ago.

L'église Notre-Dame-de-Grâce is located on the corner of avenue Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Boulevard Decarie in Montreal. This is the church that Darrell Morrisey painted in the 1920s; the painting, discovered about a year ago, is on the reverse of another of her paintings, one of a hay cart in Quebec. Seeing this painting, right away, I thought there was something familiar about this church, I Googled the image of the church and found L'église Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and recognized it; I used to live at 4100 Av Northcliffe just a block from the church, I used to wait for a bus across the street from the church and then proceed to work on Montreal’s South Shore. That was from 1976 to 1979. 

Written above the church entrance:
"Maria gratia plena, Dominus tecum" is Latin for
"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." 

Darrell Morrisey's painting of L'église Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (1927-1930)

The bell tower, on the far right, was constructed in 1927; 
this helps us date Darrell Morrisey's painting of the
church, it is between 1927 and 1930, the year in which she died.

The entrance to the offices of St. Augustine Catholic Church
on the east side of the church, the bell tower was added in 1927.

The offices of L'église Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
are on the west side of the church.

                  

                                                                    Note the Sulpician logo on front of church


The Sulpicians have a long history in Montreal. This interests me because two of my great great uncles were educated at the Grand Séminaire de Montréal by the Sulpicians; the Sulpicians admitted into the seminary these two working class boys, Martin Callaghan, who became the first Montreal born pastor at St. Patrick's Church, and James Callaghan, a future pastor at St. Ann's Catholic Church in Griffintown; sons of immigrant Irish parents, the Sulpicians opened the doors of education, religion, and society to them. They were educated in Rome and Paris, and they were celebrated at home where they were respected and well known. While I am not deeply religious, I am interested in the churches of Montreal, churches of all faiths, and I am interested in my family history which is closely associated with the history of Montreal. The architect of L'église Notre-Dame-de-Grâce was John Ostell, interior stained glass windows are by Guido Nincheri, and the church is a part of the Sulpician history of Montreal. 

Note: Montreal and Saint Sulpice

NEWS

 

 11 JANUARY 2018

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A Long History Celebrated

 

Last year, during the celebration of the 375th anniversary of the founding of the city of Montreal, a group of faithful Québecois devoted to the early founders came to France to trace the French heritage that first arrived in Canada in 1642.

The Sulpicians became intimately tied to the city of Montreal—then named Ville-Marie—when the Sulpician founder, M. Jean-Jacques OLIER, who was part of the founding Société de Notre-Dame de Montréal interested in establishing firm Christian roots in New France, joined in sending a contingent of French missionaries to Montreal in 1657, the year of his own death. Arriving in August 1657, the Sulpicians found the city on the verge of collapse. They immediately set about plans to stabilize and restore the city. They organized the streets, gave them names that endure to the present (such as, rue Note-Dame, rue Saint-Mathieu, rue Saint-Paul, etc.), and basically saved the city, which now survives as a thriving multicultural metropolis in Canada.

The Sulpicians consequently became known as the “lords of Montreal,” having been granted a “seigneury” by the King of France. Olier thus entered Montreal’s history, along with Paul de Chomedey de MAISONNEUVE, Jeanne MANCE and Jérôme Le Royer de la DAUVERSIÈRE, as a heroic figure of the past whose influence endures today. Only a few years ago, during renovations at the first Grand Séminaire Saint-Sulpice in Old Montreal, vestiges of the original city walls were discovered and have now been preserved for future generations.

During the summer of 2017, the Superior General, M. Ronald D. WITHERUP, PSS, welcomed a small group of pilgrims from Quebec at the Generalate in downtown Paris, where he was interviewed to comment on Olier’s incredible missionary vision and his desire to participate in the sending of missionaries to Montreal and New France. The group included Sylvie TRUDELLE, Clément FORTIN, Pierrette ROY, and Roger BÉDARD. Upon their return to Canada, they created a 36-minute video available on Facebook, which includes two short segments of the interview with Father Witherup.

Source: https://www.generalsaintsulpice.org/en/news/64-montreal-and-saint-sulpice

Rev. Charles Chiniquy's grave at Mount Royal Cemetery

Rev. Charles Chiniquy was born in July 1809 at Kamouraska, Quebec; he was a Roman Catholic priest who renounced Catholicism at age fifty; his opposition to the Roman Catholic Church is described in several of his books, both autobiographical and theological; read his final confession of faith and opposition to the Roman church. Rev. Chiniquy's lawyer, in a civil lawsuit, was a future president of the United States, it was Abraham Lincoln. Chiniquy died in Montreal in January 1899, age 89, and he is buried at Mount Royal Cemetery,  Section D1, Number D2018.  

(Re: Darrell Morrisey information.)

                                                         

More on Darrell Morrisey from Mount Royal Cemetery

Darrell Morrisey 

We were sitting in our living room and someone commented on the Darrell Morrisey painting hanging above the love seat where I was sitting, and how much they liked it, it draws one in, it demands one's attention. Later that afternoon we drove to Mount Royal Cemetery and visited my parents' grave which is where, one day, I will be buried. I commented on how beautiful and peaceful I find this cemetery, it is like being in the country. We took a circuitous drive to the cemetery’s exit on Remembrance Road, we passed the Molson family mausoleum and stopped to discuss it, how the Molson family is prominent in Montreal's history. Then we continued and a minute later someone exclaimed "There is Chiniquy's grave!", it was the grave of Reverend Charles Chiniquy (1809-1899) who had fallen out with the powerful Roman Catholic Church in Quebec; an ancestor of one of our party had been a Presbyterian minister, originally from a family of Huguenots, and he moved to Illinois from Quebec City over a hundred years ago to work with Reverend Chiniquy. And then, as we looked at Revered Chiniquy's impressive monument, I looked back to where the car was parked and on the other side of the road I saw a headstone for the McLernon family and I remembered that a member of  Darrell Morrisey’s family had married a McLernon; I walked across the road to read the headstone and there I saw the name Phyllis Anne Morrisey, Phyllis was Darrell Morrisey’s niece; Darrell’s brother, Thomas Sydney Morrisey and his wife Beatrice Coristine Morrisey, had two children, Hugh Morrisey and Phyllis Anne Morrisey. Phyllis Anne Morrisey married Roy McLernon in 1942 and one of their children was named after Darrell. Phyllis was born in 1918 when Darrell was 21 years old, when Darrell died in 1930 Phyllis was only twelve years old. After her passing something happened to Darrell's paintings because there are very few of them extant, we don't really know what happened to them. Only a few years ago we learned that around 1940 Syd Morrisey left one of Darrell's paintings at the West End Gallery on Greene Avenue, Westmount, and this painting was re-discovered eighty years later. As well, around 1940, Syd phoned my mother to inquire about Morrissey family history and years later she mentioned this phone call to me, she was impressed by Colonel Morrisey. It is curious that although Darrell was probably the most forgotten member of the Beaver Hall group of artists, evidence of her life and art keeps appearing, even on a day like this.

    

Phyllis Anne Morrisey is Darrell Morrisey`s niece

                                

          

Remembering Darrell Morrisey

Darrell Morrisey, early 1920s

Here is a link to my essay, "Remembering Darrell Morrisey"; it's the latest information on Montreal-born artist Darrell Morrisey. Darrell was a member of the Beaver Hall Group of artists but died when she was only thirty-three years old and was then forgotten. This essay includes the five paintings by Darrell that have been discovered since 2012, that's five more than we had before that date. Darrell Morrisey is forgotten no longer.

Go to: https://archive.org/details/remembering-darrell-morrisey-morrissey-06-february-2025

An Introduction to the art of Darrell Morrisey

 

Darrell Morrisey

I wrote an essay on the paintings of Darrell Morrisey and then requested that ChatGPT edit what I had written, for concision, and this is what it produced. I made the same request of MetaAI (owned by Facebook) and got nothing, they had never heard of Darrell (couldn't they have at least done a search on her?), MetaAI was actually insulting and Deep Seek was totally useless; here is what ChatGPT wrote:

Darrell Morrisey (1897–1930) was a Canadian artist whose contributions to early 20th-century art, particularly within Montreal's Beaver Hall Group, have only recently received scholarly attention. Darrell Morrisey was a member of Montreal's Beaver Hall Group, a collective of Canadian artists active in the early 20th century. The group is notable for its inclusion of both male and female artists and its embrace of modernist styles. Despite her premature death and the subsequent disappearance of her works, Morrisey's paintings and her biography offer an interesting addition to the history of the Beaver Hall artists. 

Morrisey received her artistic education at the Art Association of Montreal (AAM) between 1917 and 1920, studying under prominent artists such as Maurice Cullen and William Brymner. Her participation in the AAM's Spring Exhibitions and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts' annual exhibitions during the 1920s reflects her active engagement with the Canadian art scene. In 1921, she exhibited a portrait at the inaugural exhibition of the Beaver Hall Group, a collective of artists dedicated to exploring modernist themes and techniques. She studied at the Art Association of Montreal (AAM) from 1917 to 1920, participating in several of its Spring Exhibitions during that period and later years. In June 1917, she took open-air drawing classes from Maurice Cullen in Phillipsburg, Quebec, and the following year from William Brymner in Calumet (now Pointe-Calumet), Quebec.

The Beaver Hall Group, established in 1920, was instrumental in advancing modern art in Canada. Unlike the contemporaneous Group of Seven, which focused predominantly on landscapes, the Beaver Hall artists embraced a diverse range of subjects, including portraiture and urban scenes, and were notable for their inclusion of women artists. Morrisey's involvement with this group positioned her among peers who were at the forefront of artistic innovation in Montreal.

Morrisey's limited body of work is characterized by a focus on rural landscapes and one portrait. Her travels to Europe between 1921 and 1922, including visits to the United Kingdom, Italy, and France, likely enriched her artistic perspective, as suggested by the European themes present in some of her later works.

The discovery of Morrisey's paintings has been a gradual process. In May 2024, a painting titled "Sunset Landscape," dated 1917, was identified in the United Kingdom and subsequently returned to Canada. This work, along with others that have surfaced, such as a depiction of L'église Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in Montreal, underscores her artistic range and the geographical breadth of her subjects.

Despite these discoveries, much of Morrisey's life and work remains shrouded in mystery. Her early death at the age of 33 and the subsequent disappearance of many of her paintings have contributed to her status as a "forgotten" artist within the Beaver Hall Group. Recent scholarly efforts, including essays and exhibitions, have begun to shed light on her contributions, emphasizing the need for further research to fully appreciate her role in Canadian art history.

In examining Darrell Morrisey's paintings, one not only gains insight into her personal artistic journey but also into the broader narrative of Canadian modernism. Her work reflects the dynamic interplay between tradition and innovation that defined the art scene in early 20th-century Montreal. As more of her paintings come to light, there is an opportunity to reassess her impact and ensure that her legacy is appropriately recognized within the canon of Canadian art.

Morrisey's artistic contributions are less documented compared to some of her contemporaries. However, a recently discovered painting titled "Sunset Landscape" (1917) showcases her talent and provides insight into her style.

While specific comparisons between Morrisey's work and that of other Beaver Hall artists are limited due to the scarcity of her known pieces, her association with the group suggests she shared their modernist approach and thematic interests.

For a more comprehensive understanding of Morrisey's art in relation to her peers, further research and discovery of her works would be necessary.

Morrisey's artistic focus included portraits and rural landscapes, with her later works reflecting her travels in Europe. She exhibited at the first annual exhibition of the Beaver Hall Group in January 1921, presenting a portrait. Throughout the 1920s, her work was admired by critics in Montreal. She traveled to Europe from August 1921 to July 1922, visiting the United Kingdom, Italy, and France, and occasionally visited the United States.

Due to her early death and the subsequent disappearance of many of her paintings, Morrisey became one of the "forgotten" members of the Beaver Hall Group. However, recent discoveries have brought some of her works back into the public eye. In May 2014 the first of her paintings was discovered in her hometown, Westmount, Quebec, entitled "Landscape (possibly Pointe Calumet, Quebec". Ten years later, in May 2024, a painting titled "Sunset Landscape" was discovered in the United Kingdom.  Additionally, in September 2024, two more paintings were found, including one depicting L'église Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in Montreal (located on the corner of Decarie and Avenue Notre-Dame-de-Grâce), believed to have been painted between 1927 and 1930.

These recent discoveries have renewed interest in Morrisey's contributions to Canadian art, shedding light on her role within the Beaver Hall Group and the broader art community of her time.

.