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| Evelyn Lambart | |
|---|---|
| Name | Evelyn Lambart |
| Birth date | December 22, 1914 |
| Birth place | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Death date | May 11, 1999 |
| Death place | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Animator, filmmaker, educator |
| Years active | 1942–1986 |
| Known for | Experimental animation, collaboration with Norman McLaren |
Evelyn Lambart was a Canadian animator and filmmaker whose work with the National Film Board of Canada and collaborator Norman McLaren helped shape twentieth-century animation. She contributed to animated films, experimental techniques, and pedagogy that linked Canadian cultural institutions with international festivals and educational programs. Lambart’s career connected institutions, festivals, and artists across North America and Europe.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Lambart studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design, where she trained alongside peers from the Group of Seven, students influenced by Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, Arthur Lismer, A.Y. Jackson, and J.E.H. MacDonald. She pursued further study in design and technique at the Art Students League of New York and workshops connected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and the Canadian Handicrafts Guild. Early exposure to the visual arts put her in contact with galleries such as the Art Gallery of Ontario and educators from institutions like the Ontario College of Art and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Lambart joined the National Film Board of Canada in the 1940s, working in departments associated with producers and directors including John Grierson, Tom Daly, and later collaborations tied to the Griersonian tradition of documentary and experimental film. Her longstanding partnership with animator and filmmaker Norman McLaren resulted in films screened at festivals including the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Lambart’s network included artists and filmmakers from the Canadian Film Centre, the British Film Institute, the Museum of Modern Art, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. She collaborated with technicians and musicians involved with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the CBC Symphony Orchestra, and composers associated with the Canadian Music Centre.
Lambart specialized in hand-drawn animation, cutout techniques, and direct-on-film experimentation reminiscent of approaches used by Len Lye, Oskar Fischinger, and Stan Brakhage. Her work displayed affinities with avant-garde practices promoted at the Black Mountain College and by educators linked to the Bauhaus, the New School for Social Research, and the Cooper Union. Lambart often combined techniques related to stop-motion used by studios such as the Rank Organisation and cel animation featured in productions by studios like Walt Disney Animation Studios, while pursuing experimental sound-image relations explored by John Cage, Edgard Varèse, and Pierre Schaeffer.
Lambart’s filmography at the NFB includes shorts produced with McLaren and solo works presented at venues such as the Festival of Britain, the Montreal World Film Festival, and the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Notable titles shown alongside films by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Nick Park, and Aardman Animations include collaborations comparable to McLaren’s Neighbours and Brakhage’s experimental shorts. Her films were distributed through institutions like the British Film Institute National Archive, the Cinémathèque Française, the Library of Congress, and the National Gallery of Canada.
Lambart taught animation techniques in workshops linked to the National Film Board of Canada, summer programs at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and courses associated with the University of Toronto, the Ryerson University media programs, and community arts initiatives partnered with the Ontario Arts Council. Her mentorship influenced students who later taught at the California Institute of the Arts, the School of Visual Arts, the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and the Royal College of Art. She presented masterclasses at festivals including Annecy, Ottawa International Animation Festival, and the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen.
Throughout her career Lambart’s films and collaborative projects received recognition at major festivals and from institutions such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Genie Awards, the Canadian Screen Awards, the Governor General's Awards, and provincial honors administered by the Ontario Arts Council. Her work was archived and honored by the National Film Board of Canada, the Canadian Film Institute, and the International Documentary Association. Retrospectives appeared at museums like the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern, and the National Gallery of Canada.
Lambart’s influence extends through collections held by the National Film Board of Canada, the British Film Institute, and the Cinémathèque Québécoise, and through the careers of animators and educators connected to the Canadian Film Centre, the CalArts Character Animation Program, and the ASIFA International community. Her contributions are studied in curricula at the University of British Columbia, the Concordia University film departments, and the York University Schulich School of Business programs touching cultural policy. Archives preserving her work include holdings at the Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Museum of History, ensuring continued recognition at festivals such as Annecy and exhibitions organized by the International Animated Film Association.
Category:Canadian animators Category:National Film Board of Canada people