Home > Artist Database > Bio-bibliographic Database > RICHARDS, E. Jean
Artist Database
RICHARDS, E. Jean
- Born
- Edmonton, Alberta, 1924
- Died
- Edmonton, Alberta, 2015
- Biography synopsis
- After working in different fields of the Alberta cultural community, E. Jean Richards turned to her visual art practice and writing art criticism for The Edmonton Journal in 1960. She studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts and the University of Alberta as well as with well-known Alberta artists H.G. Glyde, Jack Taylor, Harry Savage and Harry Wolfarth. In addition to painting, she also studied with master calligraphers. She was known to incorporate different materials into her landscape paintings which depicted rural Alberta; her style ranged from Modernist abstract incorporating light, bright colours and gestural brushwork to more traditional landscapes as well as still-lifes. She was active in the Alberta Society of Artists, serving as editor for a few issues of "Highlights," the ASA newsletter. She was a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists as well as the Edmonton Art Club, where she served as President. Richards held one-woman shows in Edmonton galleries and participated in group shows nationally and internationally. Her work was exhibited in Canada, France, the UK and Japan. She was the recipient of the Prize Certificate of Excellence for Calligraphy at the Tokyo Museum (1984), the Alberta Centennial Medal (2005), and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for calligraphic work (2013). Her work is held in collections throughout Alberta, including the Alberta Government House Foundation, the Alberta Gallery of Art, and the Provincial Archives of Alberta. A retrospective show of her work was held at the Collectors’ Gallery in Calgary in 2017; her painting was also included in a group show at the Art Gallery of Alberta in 2022.
- Media used
- Acrylics
- Calligraphy
- Collage
- Oil painting
- Sculpture
- Watercolour
- Education
- Banff School of Fine Arts
- University of Alberta
- Memberships
- Alberta Society of Artists, 1961, 1967-68, 71, 1982-2000
- Edmonton Art Club, 1954-67. President 1959, 60
- Federation of Canadian Artists
- File & Archive locations
- Calgary Public Library, AB - Arts Department
- Edmonton Art Gallery, AB - Library
- University of Calgary Library, AB
- Winnipeg Art Gallery, MA - Clara Lander Library
- London Public Library, ON
- Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
- National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
- University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
- Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- "Alberta Artist wins Prize for Calligraphy." The Globe and Mail 13 Feb 1984: 17
- "Edmonton Art Club Events." Edmonton Journal 8 Feb. 1973
- "Galleries & Museums." Edmonton Journal 31 Oct 31 2013: c9
- "New Art Center for Local Artists." Edmonton Journal 22 Oct. 1971
- “Don’t Look for Shape in Art.” Edmonton Journal 11 Apr. 1958.
- Barnhouse, Dorothy. "Her Paints Speak for Jean Richards.” The Edmonton Journal, March 6, 1964. 6 Mar. 1964
- Griwkowsky, Fish. "Conjured Images and BEHOLD|EN to Open at AGA; the List." Edmonton Journal 18 Aug 2022: A12
- 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
- Paradis, Andree. "L'Art des Prairies." Vie des Arts 44 (Fall 1966): 100
http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/58366ac - Pierce, Gretchen. “Conformity be Damned, Painter Delights and Surprises.” The Edmonton Journal 18 Nov. 1981.
- Reichwein, P. and K. Wall. Uplift: Visual Culture at the Banff School of Fine Arts Banff: Banff School of Fine Arts, 2020
- 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
Writings by- Richards, Jean. "Three Cheers for Artistic Individualism." The Edmonton Journal 6 April 1973: 8
