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PEMBERTON, Sophie

Born
Victoria, British Columbia, 1869
Died
Oak Bay, British Columbia, 1959
Biography synopsis
Sophie Pemberton Deane-Drummond, studied at the Slade School of Art (1892-96) and at the Academie Julian (1897). She was the first Canadian to receive the Prix Julian from the Academie Julian for her portraiture. She went to London, England c.1899 and shared a studio there with the Norwegian artist Anna Nordgren. A painter of portraits and landscapes, she showed her work at the Royal Academy, the Paris Salon, and at the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition. She alternated between living in England and living in Victoria. She had a solo show in Victoria in 1902. In 1906 she was elected an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy. She married Canon Beanlands in 1905 and traveled with him to India. Following his death she married Horace Deane-Drummond. A retrospective of her work was shown at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1954, and a second one at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in 1967.
Media used
Painting
Education
South Kensington Art Schools
Académie Julian, Paris, 1897 - ?
Memberships
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Associate, 1906
File & Archive locations
Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
Edmonton Art Gallery, AB - Library
London Public Library, ON
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
British Columbia Archives
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 - Archives
Vancouver Public Library, BC - Fine Arts and History Department
Hamilton Public Library, ON - Local History and Archives Department
Alberta Culture and Community Spirit - Arts Branch
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
Island Arts and Crafts Society
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
Sophie Deane-Drummond Victoria, B.C.: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1967
Sophie Pemberton Retrospective Exhibition Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery, 1954
"'On the Ladder of Fame': A Victorian at the Royal Academy in London" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (20 June 1901): 6
"A Fine Painting: Work of a Victoria Artist Which Will Attract Attention" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: 2 May 1907
"An Appreciation of Great Work: Wonderful Advance Made by Miss Pemberton in Her Art Studies" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (25 September 1904): 3
"An exhibition of paintings..." London Evening Free Press London: 13 April 1954
"Art In British Columbia: Excellent Landscape Executed by Mrs. Canon Beanlands" The Times (Victoria) Victoria: 1 May 1907
"Art Jottings" Indian Telegraph (London?) London?: 19 June 1909
"Art" The Week (Victoria?) Victoria?: 4 May 1907
"At the Gallery: 'Old Pewter' Luncheon Topic" The Vancouver Province Vancouver: 30 January 1954
"Au Foyer du Palais Montcalm: Exposition conjointe" Le Soleil (Quebec) Quebec: 20 August 1949
"Bad Luck" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: 3 June 1967
"British Columbia is not unrepresented..." The Vancouver Province Vancouver: 21 May 1898
"Commodore Goodrich..." The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: 28 September 1904
"Dedication of Pemberton Chapel: Beautiful Adjunct to Jubilee Hospital to be Opened Tomorrow" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: 23 December 1909
"Dore Gallery" The Times (London) London: (24 May 1909): 2
"Exhibition of Fine Paintings: Works From the Brush of Miss Pemberton Interest Art Connoisseurs" Daily Advertiser (Vancouver) Vancouver: 21 October 1904
"First B.C. Artist to Win Acclaim" The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Toronto: (3 November 1959)
"First B.C. Artists to Win Acclaim" Globe & Mail (Toronto) November 3, 1959
"Former Victoria Artist Exhibits Pictures Here" Victoria Daily Times Victoria: 28 March 1947
"Making Her Mark" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: 23 April 1899
"Many Pay Tribute To Genius Of A Victorian-Born Artist" The Times (Victoria) Victoria: 10 August 1949
"Miss Pemberton's Noted Oils" Progress 1 October 1904
"Miss S. T. Pemberton's..." The Ladies' Gazette (London) London: 28 May 1898
"Mrs. Beanlands has very clever sketches..." The Morning Post (London?) London?: 11 May 1909
"Mrs. Beanlands Ill" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (12 March 1908): 6
"No. 44: Winding Yarns" The Ladies' Pictorial (London) London: 28 May 1898
"Noted B.C. Artist Dies" The British Columbian (Victoria?) Victoria?: (2 November 1959): 2
"Paintings of Native Daughter On Exhibit" The Times (Victoria) Victoria: (5 August 1949)
"Pioneer Victoria Artist Dies at Home Here" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (1 November 1959): 5
"Planter From India Arrives" Manila Daily Bulletin Manila: 7 May 1921
"Portrait of Late Curator To Be Painted By Miss Pemberton and Adorn Provincial Museum" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: 15 February 1905
"Rites Today For Artist" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (3 November 1959): 25
"Rites Tuesday For Pioneer City Artist" The Times (Victoria) Victoria: (2 November 1959): 13
"Royal Academy Concluding Notice" Ladies' Pictorial (London) London: 30 July 1904
"Royal Academy, 1901" The Ladies' Field (London) London: 18 May 1901
"Sophie Pemberton: First Famous B.C. Woman Artist" The Times (Victoria) Victoria: (29 July 1978): 32
"The Portrait of John Fannin" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (24 May 1905): 4
"The world of art would have been much the poorer..." Truth (London) London: 2 June 1904
"Those of us who take any interest...." The Vancouver Province Vancouver: 5 June 1897
"Victoria Girls Preferred Gay Life of Vancouver" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (27 August 1978): 15?
"Victorian Honoured" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (20 June 1903): 5
[Emily Carr overshadowed Sophie Pemberton] The Daily Colonist (Victoria) June 3, 1967
Amos, Robert. "A Rare and Joyous Artist." Times-Colonist (Victoria) 21 Jan. 2001: B13
Amos, Robert. "A Woman's Place Defined." Times-Colonist (Victoria) 7 Oct. 2004: D8
Amos, Robert. "Emily Carr: The Evolution of a Mythology" Times-Colonist (Victoria) July 8, 2001: D.6
Amos, Robert. "Inspiration Came from Goya Etchings" Times-Colonist (Victoria) January 9, 2003: C.8
Amos, Robert. "Toilet plungers and semiotics" Times-Colonist (Victoria) July 9, 2000: C.12
Amos, Robert. "Victoria's Other Artist" Times-Colonist (Victoria) September 26, 1999: B12
Davies, Blodwen. "Canadian Women of Brush and Chisel." Chatelaine 3 (Jun. 1930): 9, 42
Edwards, R. Yorke. "Portrait in Storage" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (30 August 1978): 5
Finlay, K.A. and Shea, T.. "A Woman's Place" Art and the Role of Women in the Cultural Formation of Victoria B.C. 1850s-1920s Victoria, B.C.: Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery, University of Victoria, 2004
Gilmore, Bernice C. Artists Overland: A Visual Record of British Columbia 1793-1886. Burnaby: Burnaby Art Gallery, 1980
Graham, Colin. Sophie Deane-Drummond Victoria, B.C.: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1967
Graham, Colin. "Art in Review: Pemberton Oils Give Sensuous Pleasure" The Times (Victoria) Victoria: (28 August 1954): 9
Graham, Colin. "Art in Review: Un livre ouvert" The Times (Victoria) Victoria: (27 February 1954)
Harper, J. Russell. Painting in Canada: A History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1966, 2nd edition 1977
House, Maria Newberry. Plantae Occidentalis: 200 Years of Botanical Art in British Columbia Vancouver: Botanical Garden University of British Columbia, 1979
Huneault, Kristina. I'm Not Myself at All: Women, Art, and Subjectivity in Canada Montreal; Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2018
Huneault, Kristina. "Botanical Albums as Theoretical Objects: Sophie Pemberton and the Logic of Identity." Flora's Fieldworkers: Women and Botany in Nineteenth-Century Canada. Ed. Shteir, Ann Kingston, Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2022: 281-319
Irving, D. Ogilvy. "In Retrospect" The Vancouver Province Vancouver: (20 March 1954): 19
Johnson, Audrey St. D.. "Arts Centre Showing Work of Two Famous Women of Victoria" The Times (Victoria) Victoria: (8 July 1954): 21
Johnson, Audrey St. D.. "Exhibit Emphasizes Versatility of Artist" The Times (Victoria) Victoria: (10 August 1949): 15
Lamarche, Bernard. "Festival International des films sur l'art" Le Devoir (Montreal) 18 mars 2000
Layland, Michael. In Nature’s Realm: Early Naturalists Explore Vancouver Island. Toronto: TouchWood Editions, 2019
Learoyd, Eileen. "Artist From Pioneer Family Home After 23 Years Abroad" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: 7 August 1949
Litwin, Grania. "A Canadian Art Mystery Solved?" Victoria Times Colonist November 16, 2004
Litwin, Grania. "Emily elusive" Times-Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (14 November 2004): D12
Mitges, Lynn. "Favourite Artist taken to new heights" Province (Vancouver) 5 October, 2006: C3
Nesbitt, James K.. "Sophie Took To Art" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (28 August 1978): 14, 15
Nesbitt, James K.. "The Lovely Lady of Gonzales Hill: Sophia Pemberton was Victoria's First Famous Artist" The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (8 November 1959): 12
Nicol, Janet Mary. "Sophie Pemberton" Artichoke vol.12, no.2, summer 2000: 8-10
Page, Anne Mandely. Canada's First Professional Women Painters, 1890-1914: Their Reception in Canadian Writing on the Visual Arts. Montreal: Concordia University, 1991
Palette. "In the Realm of Art: Noted B.C. Artist's Work At Gallery" The Vancouver Province Vancouver: (20 February 1954)
Palette. "In the Realm of Art: Top B.C. Painter Shows At Gallery" The Vancouver Province Vancouver: (27 February 1954): 8
Petteys, Chris, et al. Dictionary of Women Artists: An International Dictionary of Women Artists Born Before 1900. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1985
Salmon, Peter. "Sunday Reader - Islander - History of Painting in Victoria." Times-Colonist (Victoria) 12 May 1996: 1
Sarradi, Edouard. "Le Tour du Salon de la société des artistes français" Journal des débats politiques et littéraires (30 April 1903): 3
Scott, Andrew. "It is strange..." The Vancouver Sun Vancouver: (27 October 1978)
Thom, Ian. "Sophie Pemberton" Art BC : masterworks from British Columbia Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 2000
Tippett, Maria and Douglas Cole. From Desolation to Splendour: Changing Perceptions of the British Columbia Landscape Toronto: Clarke, Irwin and Company Ltd, 1977
Tuele, N.C.. "B.C.'s first woman painter misses fame" The Ubyssey (1 December 1978): 3
Tuele, Nicholas. Sophia Theresa Pemberton: Her Life and Art Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1980
Tuele, Nicholas. Sophie Theresa Pemberton, 1869-1959 Victoria, B.C.: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1978
Uhthoff, Ina D. D. "Art Gallery - Smaller Work Sincere." Daily Colonist (Victoria) 15 Jun. 1967
Uhthoff, Ina D. D. "Some Emily Carr Paintings Now on Display First Time." Daily Colonist (Victoria) 7 Jul. 1954
Williamson, Moncrieff. "Art In Review: Long, Distinguished life Links Artist With History" The Times (Victoria) Victoria: (25 October 1958): 6
Wilson, Carla. "Quamichan Inn undergoes facelift" Times-Colonist (Victoria) Victoria: (22 September 2006): A18

Full text pdfs of exhibition reviews
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Toronto, ) "Art Exhibition. Annual Display of Royal Canadian Academy Opens at the Art Gallery. Three Hundred Pictures. Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Maritime Provinces are Represented - Collection of Special Interest."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.6.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Toronto, ) "Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Society is Holding Its Twenty-Fifth Annual Exhibition. Oils and Water Colours from Pictures Now Shown Will Be Selected Those For St. Louis Exposition."  Montreal Star  .  p.5.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Toronto, ) "Royal Academy Exhibition."  Montreal Witness  .  p.2.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Toronto, ) "The Royal Canadian Academy. A Critical Review of the Exhibition in Montreal."  The Toronto News  .  p.9.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (, ) "Exposition de tableaux A la galerie des arts."  La Presse (Montreal)  .  pp.1,9.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) William R. Watson.  "Notable Canvases in Art Exhibit. But Tone Would Have Been Improved by Elimination of Many Pictures. Review of Chief Features. What Morrice, Cullen, Brymner and Other Leaders in Canadian Art Offer This Year."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.4.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "The Spring Exhibition at the Art Gallery."  Montreal Star  .  p.16.   Full-text pdf

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