Harry Mayerovitch
Harry Mayerovitch (April 16, 1910 – April 16, 2004), was a Canadian architect, artist, illustrator, author and cartoonist. Mayerovitch was born in Montreal on April 16, 1910, to Romanian-Jewish parents from the region of Bessarabia. After completing a Bachelor of Arts at McGill University, he earned his degree in architecture in 1933.
Also recorded as Mayo (artist's signature)
Harry Mayerovitch

Harry Mayerovitch · via Collection Search · Public domain
- Name
- Harry Mayerovitch
- Born
- April 16, 1910
- Birthplace
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Died
- April 16, 2004
- Place of death
- Montreal, Quebec
- Education
- School of Architecture at McGill University
- Nationality
- Canada
- Occupation
- cartoonist · architect · painter · university teacher · writer · comics artist
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Harry Mayerovitch (April 16, 1910 – April 16, 2004), was a Canadian architect, artist, illustrator, author and cartoonist. Mayerovitch was born in Montreal on April 16, 1910, to Romanian-Jewish parents from the region of Bessarabia. After completing a Bachelor of Arts at McGill University, he earned his degree in architecture in 1933.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Harry Mayerovitch. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q5670940 · wikipedia · Harry Mayerovitch
In this article
Biography
Biography
Architecture projects were put on hold when Canada entered World War II, so Mayerovitch turned his attention to painting, with one painting, a war-themed work entitled Home Front, exhibited at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. This work garnered praise from Ottawa Journal critic Robert Ayer, which in turn caught the attention of National Film Board of Canada (NFB) founder John Grierson, who appointed Mayerovitch artistic director of the NFB's Wartime Information Board's Graphic Arts Division—even though Mayerovitch had never designed posters before. From 1942 to 1944, Mayerovitch produced World War II propaganda posters, using the artist's signature "Mayo." Following the war, Mayerovitch resumed work as an architect and became active in urban planning. Beginning in 1965, he taught at McGill's School of Architecture, and remained on faculty until his death. His published works include the book, How Architecture Speaks. In 2000, his 90th birthday was marked with the planting of a magnolia tree in the school of architecture's Centennial Garden. He was a member of the Order of Architects of Quebec, the Corporation of Urbanists of Quebec, the Canadian Institute of Planners, the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, the Canadian Society of Graphic Arts, and was a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.
Harry Mayerovitch studied at McGill University. The recorded working language is English. Employment is recorded with National Film Board of Canada, McGill University and Laval University. Work by Harry Mayerovitch is recorded in the collections of National Gallery of Canada, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, McCord Stewart Museum, Musée de la civilisation and Art Gallery of Hamilton.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Harry Mayerovitch • Born — April 16, 1910 • Birthplace — Montreal, Quebec, Canada • Died — April 16, 2004 • Place of death — Montreal, Quebec • Education — School of Architecture at McGill University
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Harry Mayerovitch”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5670940: Harry Mayerovitch
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Mayerovitch, Harry et Centre Saidye-Bronfman. 1989. Retrospective 1929-1989: H. Mayerovitch. Montréal : Centre Saidye Bronfman, 64 p.
- 2.Ancienne bibliothèque juive - Montréal. imtl.org.
- 3.Danielle Doucet. Une œuvre murale de Pellan peu connue. Documomo Québec. 10. printemps 1996.
- 4.Édifice City Centre - Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec. www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca.
- 5.Mayerovitch, Harry. 1996. Cette Architecture qui nous parle... et façonne notre monde, Montréal : R. Davies, 190 p.
- 6.Mayerovitch, Harry. 1973. Overstreet : an Urban Street Development System. Montréal : Harvest House, 104 p.
- 7.Mayerovitch, Harry et Centre Saidye-Bronfman. 1989. Retrospective 1929-1989: H. Mayerovitch. Montréal : Centre Saidye Bronfman, 64 p.
- 8.Esther. Trépanier. Peintres juifs au rendez-vous de la modernité. Continuité. 45. 1989. 0714-9476. 1923-2543. 2020-01-19. 42–45.
- 9.Harry Mayerovitch Collection Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. collections.mnbaq.org.
- 10.Mayerovitch, Harry. 1993. Kaput. Westmount : H. Mayerovitch, 48 p.
- 11.Mayerovitch, Harry. 2000. Bernie. Westmount : H. Mayerovitch, 70 p.
- 12.Mayerovitch, Harry. 2004. Way to go. Westmount : Drawn and Quarterly, 96 p.
- 13.Harry Mayerovitch Profiled in Montreal Gazette For Way to Go. Drawn & Quarterly. 2004-04-19.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 7
- Choko, Marc-H. 2001. L’affiche au Québec des origines à nos jours. Montréal : Édition de l’homme, 286 p.
- Choko, Marc-H. 2001. Affiches de guerre Canadiennes : 1914-1918, 1939-1945. Laval : Édition du Méridien ; Groupe Communication Canada Ottawa, 199 p.
- Evans, Gary. 1984. John Grierson and the national film board : the politics of wartime propaganda. Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 329 p.
- Hustak, Alan. 2004. « Mercurial Mayerovitch, 94, dies on birthday: Architect’s last book took an irreverent look at death » in The Gazette (Montréal), .
- Jean, Marcel. 2010. « L’ONF par ceux qui l’ont imaginé ». 24 images, 149 (octobre-novembre), .
- Mayerovitch, Harry et Centre Saidye-Bronfman. 1989. Retrospective 1929-1989: H. Mayerovitch. Montréal : Centre Saidye Bronfman, 64 p.
- Stacey, Robert. 1979. The Canadian poster book : 100 years of the poster in Canada. Toronto : Methuen, 86 p.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Comics and comic art
9,920 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Harry J. TuthillArtist
- Harry J. WestonArtist
- Harry JuliusArtist
- Harry LampertArtist
- Harry PaschallArtist
- Harry RountreeArtist
- Hart AmosArtist
- Haru Natsu Aki FuyuSeries
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Harry Mayerovitch?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.