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McNAUGHT, Euphemia

Born
Glenmorris, Ontario, 1901
Died
Beaverlodge, Alberta, 2002
Biography synopsis
Known for her scenes of pioneer life and landscapes of Peace River Country, Euphemia "Betty" McNaught did much to foster art and culture in rural Alberta. In 1912, McNaught's family left Glenmorris and traveled west, where they settled on a homestead near Beaverlodge. After teaching for two years at the local school, McNaught decided to enroll as a student at the Ontario College of Art. There, she studied under Arthur Lismer and J. E H. MacDonald, and also met fellow Alberta artist Annora Brown. She graduated in 1929 and moved to Calgary, where she taught at Mount Royal College for two years. In 1931 McNaught exhibited with the Art Association of Montreal. In 1935 she moved to central Canada to teach at the Ontario Ladies' College in Whitby, but returned to Beaverlodge one year later following the death of her father. During the war McNaught and her friend Evy McBryan received permission from Prime Minister Mackenzie King to document the construction of the Alaska Highway in paintings. She resumed teaching from 1955-58 in Grande Prairie at the University of Alberta Department of Extension. Throughout her career, McNaught participated in several solo and group exhibitions, including the Alberta Society of Artists at the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede (1931), and at the National Gallery of Canada just prior to her death. Highly involved in the Alberta arts scene, she was founder of the Grande Prairie Art Club, the Beaverlodge Art Club, and the Peace Watercolour Society. In addition, she was a member of the Alberta Society of Artists (elected a lifetime member in 1985). In recognition of her accomplishments McNaught was awarded the Alberta Achievement Award of Excellence in Art (1977) and the Sir Frederick Haultain Prize (1982).
Media used
Book illustration
Drawing
Oil painting
Painting
Pen and Ink
Printmaking
Watercolour
Education
Ontario College of Art & Design (formerly Ontario School of Art), ? - 1929 (under J. E. H. MacDonald and Arthur Lismer)
Memberships
Alberta Society of Artists
Beaverlodge Art Club
Grande Prairie Art Club
Peace Watercolour Society
File & Archive locations
Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
Museum of Modern Art, NY
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
University of Calgary Library, AB
Vancouver Art Gallery, BC - Library
Winnipeg Art Gallery, MA - Clara Lander Library
Artexte Information Centre, QC - Documentation Centre
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
Calgary Public Library, AB - Arts Department
South Peace Regional Archives, AB
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
McNaught Homestead Heritage: A Natural Gathering Place ?
http://www.mcnaught-homestead-heritage.com/
Tea with Betty Grande Prairie, Alberta: Visual Works, 1994
"5 for Family: Top Five Family Events for Jan. 7-8." Edmonton Journal 7 Jan. 2006: B6
"A Brush with Peace." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 15 May 1991: C1
"Euphemia McNaught." Beaverlodge Arts and Culture Society. Beaverlodge, Alberta: Beaverlodge Gallery, 2019
http://beaverlodgegallery.com/euphemia-mcnaught/
"McNaught Homestead Preservation Society: Following Betty's Trail." http://www.mcnaughthomestead.org-a.googlepages.com/ ?
"Monkman Pass Memorial Trail Driving Tour." www.env.gov.bc.ca/.../MonkmanPassMemorialTrail-DrivingRoute.pdf 2009
"Museums & Galleries." Edmonton Journal 26 Aug - 6 Jan. 2006
Ainslie, Patricia and Mary-Beth LaViolette. Alberta Art and Artists: An Overview Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2007
Alberta Art Foundation. Spaces and Places: Eight Decades of Landscape Painting in Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta: Alberta Art Foundation, 1986
http://archive.org/details/spacesplaces1986/page/n1/mode/2up
Art Gallery of Alberta. The Road: Constructing the Alaska Highway. Edmonton: Art Gallery of Alberta, 2007
Beauchamp, Elizabeth. "Alberta Drawing in Good Hands." Edmonton Journal 22 Apr. 1989: F1
Beauchamp, Elizabeth. "Artists Relate to Expansive Prairie Vastness." Edmonton Journal 7 Dec. 1990: C10
Cockburn, Neco. "Artist Painted, Taught Beauty of the North: National Gallery Display Among Her Many Honours." Edmonton Journal 28 May 2002: B8
Cook, Sharon Anne, et al., eds. Framing Our Past: Canadian Women's History in the 20th Century. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2001
Dudley, Wendy. "Age Just a State of Mind to Pioneer Alberta Artist." Calgary Herald 23 Jun. 1989: E1
Fenton, Terry and Karen Wilkin. Art in Alberta: Paul Kane to the Present. Edmonton, Alberta: Edmonton Art Gallery, 1973
Ginn, Elizabeth M. Euphemia McNaught: A Regional Focus. Grande Prairie, Alberta: Prairie Gallery, 1994
Guest, Robert C. Beaverlodge Artists. Beaverlodge, Alberta: Beaverlodge and District Historical Association, 1974
Helm, Charles. "Stony Lake: History, Trails & Recreation." www.pris.bc.ca/wnms/stonylake.pdf ?: 9
Hustak, Alan. "Keeper of the Peace." Alberta Report 10 (14 Nov. 1983): 57
Hutchinson, Brian. "Portrait of the Artist as a Pioneer." Alberta Report 21.11 (28 Feb. 1994): 34
Laviolette, Mary-Beth. "The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Collection." Artichoke 13.2 (Summer 2001): 16-23
Mandel, Charles. "Just For the Love of It...; Canadian Block Printing Never Looked So Good." Edmonton Journal 13 Jan. 1999: C2
Mays, John Bentley. "Art History of Alberta Tells Story of Isolation." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 6 Aug. 1980: 13
Mays, John Bentley. "Art Review." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 18 May 1991: C14
Mays, John Bentley. "Euphemia McNaught's Prairie Gift." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 27 Apr. 1995: C5
Mays, John Bentley. "Off the Wall Landscapes." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 15 May 1991: C1
McLaughlin, Catherine. "Preserving the McNaught Homestead." Art of the Peace. 1 (Summer 2003)
http://www.artofthepeace.ca/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/artofthepeace_issue1.pdf
Norbury, F.M.. "Alberta Pictures to Tour Dominion.” Edmonton Journal 07 Jan. 1946: 5
Olivier, Victor. "The Record." Report Newsmagazine (The Alberta Edition) 29.13 (24 Jun. 2002): 55
Perry, Isabel. Euphemia McNaught: Pioneer Artist of the Peace. Edmonton: Reidmore Books, 1982
Pettit, Donald. The Peace: A History in Photographs Dawson Creek: Peace Photographics, 2008
Prairie Gallery. Euphemia McNaught: Images of the North. Grande Prairie, Alberta: Prairie Gallery, 1989
Tiesenhausen, Peter von. "In Memoriam: Euphemia McNaught." Artichoke 14.2 (2002)
Tippett, Maria. By a Lady. Toronto: Viking, 1992
Tousley, Nancy. "Artists Make Big Contribution to a Tiny Exhibition." Calgary Herald 18 Apr. 1990: D1
Tousley, Nancy. "Today's Best: Art." Calgary Herald 9 Dec. 1995: B7
Townshend, Nancy. A History of Art in Alberta, 1905-1970 Calgary, Alberta: Bayeux, 2005
Weatherbe, S. "Euphemia's Overdue [Haultain] Prize." Alberta Report 9 (9 Aug. 1982): 50-1
Willock & Sax Gallery. "Euphemia McNaught AOCA." http://www.willockandsaxgallery.com/mcnaught.htm 2009
Zimon, Kathy E. Alberta Society of Artists: The First Seventy Years Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2000

Full text pdfs of exhibition reviews
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Art Association 48th Spring Show High In Interest."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.16.   Full-text pdf

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