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Artist Database
BOEHRNSEN, Sylvia
- Born
- Valkla Estonia, 1926
- Died
- Calgary, Alberta, 2024
- Biography synopsis
- Sylvia Boehrnsen, a refugee in Germany, emigrated to Brooks, Alberta before moving to Calgary in 1951. She studied architectural drafting at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology which led to employment in major firms. She later studied painting at the University of Alberta extension program and also took courses at Coste House ( Calgary Allied Arts Centre). She studied under well-known artists Annora Brown, W.J. Phillips, H.G. Glyde, and Frank Palmer. In 1972 she studied at the University of Calgary where she completed a BFA and an MA in German Literature in 1974. She worked primarily in watercolours, depicting Canadian Arctic landscapes which were produced in the context of a commission to represent industrial activities of the company Gulf Canada in 1976. In addition to her strong interest in the Arctic, Boehrnsen was drawn to painting the light and space of the Rocky Mountains. Solo exhibitions of her work were held in Calgary at Mount Royal College, University of Calgary and the Peter Whyte Gallery (Banff) as well as at the Canadian High Commission in Singapore. Her works were shown in numerous group exhibitions including the Federation of Canadian Artists Annual show at the Federation Gallery in Vancouver, and the "As I See It" exhibition that travelled to New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii. Her work is held in various public and corporate collections including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and Nickle Gallery (University of Calgary).
- Media used
- Painting
- Watercolour
- Education
- University of Alberta
- Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
- University of Calgary, ? - 1971
- Memberships
- Alberta Society of Artists, 1979-1985
- File & Archive locations
- Calgary Public Library, AB - Arts Department
- Edmonton Art Gallery, AB - Library
- National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
- University of Calgary Library, AB
- University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- Cornerstone: Journal of the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation. 8.1 (Spring 1985): 12
http://archive.org/stream/cornerstonejourn81albe/cornerstonejourn81albe_djvu.txt - Gulf Canada Gallery presents Sylvia Boehrnsen, Main Gallery; Verna Reid, West Lounge Gallery ; Sarabeth Carnat, Calgary: Gulf Canada Gallery, 1991
- Gulf Canada Gallery presents: Main Gallery, Sylvia Boehrnsen, West Lounge, Roger Evans, Showcases, Rose Misanchuk. Calgary: Gulf Canada Gallery, 1989
- "First Show in Arctic Special." Calgary Herald 16 Jan 1985: B6
- "Whyte Museum's new Summer Exhibition opens." Rocky Mountain Outlook 23 June 2016
- Carruthers, Cole. "Whyte Museum's New Summer Exhibition Opens." Rocky Mountain Outlook 23 June 2016: A51
- Leesment, Helgi. "Sylvia Boehrnsen: Calgary Estonian Professional Artist." AJAKAJA, Alberta Estonian Heritage Society Summer 2016: 26-29
http://aehs.ca/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/ajakaja_44_2016.pdf - Nasgaard, Roald. Abstract Painting in Canada. Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 2008
- Prakash, A. K. Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women's Art Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2008
- Zimon, Kathy E. Alberta Society of Artists: The First Seventy Years Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2000
