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KIRK, Edith Fanny
- Born
- Sheffield, England, 1858
- Died
- Lethbridge, Alberta, 1953
- Biography synopsis
- Kirk studied watercolour painting with Alfred Rich in South Kensington and also trained as an art teacher at the Manchester School of Art in 1888. After completing her studies, she travelled to Canada alone in 1905, initially moving to Vancouver, British Columbia; a number of her paintings of Vancouver from 1905 are held in private collections. She subsequently moved to a gold-mining town and later to a ranching community where she worked as a school teacher. In 1915 she returned to England for a year, but returned to Canada settling in Lethbridge in 1918, where she became an art teacher. Kirk is noted for her prairie and mountain landscapes. She joined the Alpine Club of Canada in 1902 principally to paint in the mountains. She participated in the development of the Lethbridge Sketch Club in the 1930s and also gave presentations about art at the Mathesis Club of Lethbridge, a women's cultural group. In 2015 a retrospective exhibition of her works was held at the Galt Museum in Lethbridge. In addition to the Galt Museum, Library and Archives of Canada collection also includes some of her paintings.
- Media used
- Drawing
- Painting
- Watercolour
- Education
- South Kensington Art Schools (under Alfred Rich)
- Manchester School of Art
- Memberships
- Lethbridge Sketch Club
- Alberta Society of Artists
- File & Archive locations
- National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
- Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
- Galt Museum and Archives (Lethbridge)
- Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- Artsbridge. Published on Mar 11, 2014 Spring/Summer 2014
- "Artists of Southern Alberta." Historical Society of Alberta Newsletter 1 (January 1982): 16
- "Drawing and Painting Lessons." Lethbridge Daily Herald 22 Aug. 1918: 2
- Ainslie, Patricia and Mary-Beth LaViolette. Alberta Art and Artists: An Overview Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2007
- Aitkens, Wendy. A Legacy of Adventure and Art: the life of Miss Edith Fanny Kirk. Lethbridge, Alberta: Galt Museum and Archives, 2015
- Amery, Richard. "Wendy Aitkens follows in the Footsteps of Artist Edith Kirk for new Galt Exhibit and Book." The Lethbridge Alberta Beat 5 June 2015
http://www.labeat.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4200&Itemid=62 - Nicol, Janet. "Lethbridge’s Galt Museum explores life of early artist." Galleries West 23 May 2015
- Townshend, Nancy. A History of Art in Alberta, 1905-1970 Calgary, Alberta: Bayeux, 2005
- Zimon, Kathy E. Alberta Society of Artists: The First Seventy Years Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2000
