Mabel Killam Day was born in Yarmouth, NS. She started art training under John Hammond at Mount Allison University and later at the Art Students League in New York with Robert Henri, who regarded her as one of his star pupils. She married the noted author Frank Parker Day and moved to Pittsburg, where she established herself as an important artist with major exhibitions and purchases by major collectors. Her husband’s failing health resulted in her return to Yarmouth in later years. While Day’s works remained of high quality, the fact that she was a female artist painting in cultural obscurity in Maritime Canada, meant that the world essentially forgot about her work.

Mabel Day’s work is represented in many important collections in both the United States and Canada, and is currently undergoing a well-deserved resurgence of interest in the market place.

“The Sun Burst Through” is a good example of this important artist’s work. We also have the preliminary sketch for the oil painting (shown above).