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Artist Database
PAWSON, Ruth May
- Born
- Stratford, Ontario, 1908
- Died
- Regina, Saskatchewan, 1994
- Biography synopsis
- Landscape artist Ruth Pawson moved to Saskatchewan with her family in 1912. Although she demonstrated an early interest in art, it was only after studying at the Regina Normal School in 1927 and teaching for a number of years that she could afford to take art classes. She attended the Regina College of Art (University of Regina) studying painting with Augustus Kenderdine and Gordon Snelgrove; she graduated in 1940. Pawson later attended the Emma Lake Summer School with Kenderdine (1941, 1942, 1946) and also took painting classes with A.Y. Jackson at the Banff School of Fine Arts (1944, 1945, 1947). She continued teaching, but upon retiring in 1965 devoted her time to painting prairie landscapes. She was involved with the Regina Branch of the Federation of Canadian Artists, serving as secretary from 1951-1954. She participated in various solo and group exhibitions at the Regina Public Library as well as the Dunlop Gallery in Regina throughout the 1970s when her painting was recognized for its regionalist aesthetic. Ruth Pawson received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 1993. Her work is held at the National Gallery of Canada, the Banff School of Fine Arts, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, and the Saskatchewan Power Corporation.
- Media used
- Painting
- Printmaking
- Education
- Banff School of Fine Arts, 1944 - 1947 (under A.Y. Jackson)
- Emma Lake - University of Saskatchewan Art School, 1941 - ? (under Augustus Kenderdine)
- University of Regina, ? - 1940 (under Augustus Kenderdine, Gordon Snelgrove)
- Memberships
- Federation of Canadian Artists, Regina Branch secretary 1951-1954
- Regina Federation of Artists
- File & Archive locations
- Alberta Culture and Community Spirit - Arts Branch
- Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
- Artexte Information Centre, QC - Documentation Centre
- National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
- Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, QC - Media Centre
- Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists
- University of Saskatchewan Archives
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- "National Gallery buys Oil Painting by School Teacher." The Gazette (Montreal) 26 Nov 1952:10
- "Regina Federation of Artists celebrating 65th anniversary:" Regina Sun 18 Nov. 2007: 21
- "Ruth Pawson." Saskatchewan Network for Art Collection Regina, Sask.: SNAC, ?
http://www.sknac.ca/index.php?page=ArtistDetail&id=30 - Avery, Cheryl. "Incentive to Vision’: the Emma Lake Art Camp." Art Libraries Journal 24.3 , (1999):19 - 24
- Bell, Keith. "Claiming Saskatchewan: Landscape Painting from 1905-1950." Perspectives of Saskatchewan, edited by Jane Porter Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2008
- Canadian Plains Research Center. "Ruth Pawson." Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan Regina, Sask.: University of Regina, ?
http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/pawson_ruth_1908-94.jsp - Hryniuk, Margaret. "The Old Stuff fell into Place." Leader Post 26 Jan 2002: F1
- 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
- Perreault, Wilf. Saskatchewan: A Sense of Place Regina, Sask.: Rosemont Art Gallery, 1986
- Polachic, Darlene. "A Valley full of Art: Mendel celebrates History of Qu'Appelle." Saskatoon Sun Jul 28, 2002: 3
- Probe, Suzanne. Season by Season: The Work of Ruth Pawson Regina, Saskatchewan: Dunlop Art Gallery, 1992
- Rees, Ronald. Land of Earth and Sky: Landscape Painting of Western Canada Western Producer Prairie Books, 1984
- Reichwein, P. and K. Wall. Uplift: Visual Culture at the Banff School of Fine Arts Banff: Banff School of Fine Arts, 2020
- Robertson, Sheila. "Monumental Role played by Elevators." Star - Phoenix 27 Jun 1998: C11
- Wayne, Morgan. Ruth Pawson Regina, Sask.: Dunlop Art Gallery, 1975
