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WHYTE, Catharine Robb

Born
Concord, Massachusetts, 1906
Died
Banff, Alberta, 1979
Biography synopsis
Catharine Whyte (nee Robb) was know for her "impressionistic," light-filled, and colourful landscape paintings of the Canadian Rockies. While studying at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1925, she met Canadian artist Peter Whyte, whom she married in 1930. They moved to Banff where they painted the surrounding landscapes together for over thirty-five years. In addition to painting, Whyte and her husband were recognized for their philanthropic work; in 1968 they established a foundation and opened the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, which includes an archive, art works, and a library. Whyte has also been widely recognized for her contributions to conservation and museum work. Following her husband's death, she travelled with Kathleen Daly Pepper to an Inuit village in northern Quebec where she painted portraits of local people.
Media used
Painting
File & Archive locations
Calgary Public Library, AB - Arts Department
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
University of Calgary Library, AB
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
Vancouver Art Gallery, BC - Library
Vancouver Public Library, BC - Fine Arts and History Department
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
Armstrong, Christopher and H.V. Nelles. The Painted Valley: Artists Along Alberta's Bow River, 1845-2000 Calgary, Alberta: University of Calgary Press, 2007
Cavell, Edward and Whyte, Jon. Mountain Glory: The Art of Peter and Catharine Whyte Banff: Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, 1988
Christensen, Lisa, Ewen, Anne, and Westra, Monique. Artistry Revealed: Peter Whyte, Catharine Robb Whyte and Their Contemporaries Banff: Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, 2018
MacDonald, Colin S. The Dictionary of Canadian Artists. (Volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker) Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2009
Mayberry, Kim. Romance in the Rockies: The Life and Adventures of Catharine and Peter Whyte Canmore, Alberta: Heritage House Publishing Company, 2003
Niwa, Kathleen. Rocky Mountain Palettes: The Art of Peter and Catharine Whyte Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, 1996
Rupprecht, Markus. Drawing Home Calgary: M.Y.R.A. Entertainment, Fresh Dog Productions, 2017
Skidmore, Colleen. This Wild Spirit: Women in the Rocky Mountains of Canada Edmonton, Alberta: The University of Alberta Press, 2006
Townshend, Nancy. A History of Art in Alberta, 1905-1970 Calgary, Alberta: Bayeux, 2005
Townshend, Nancy. Art Inspired by the Canadian Rockies, Purcell Mountains and Selkirk Mountains 1809-2012 Calgary: Bayeux Press, 2012
Welsch, Katarina. Catharine R. Whyte Et La Préservation Du Patrimoine Culturel Des Rocheuses Canadiennes : Une Visionnaire En Avance Sur Son Temps, Mais De Son Temps Edmonton: University of Alberta, 2013

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