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RUTHERFORD, Erica
- Born
- Edinburgh, Scotland, 1923
- Died
- Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, 2008
- Biography synopsis
- When Erica Rutherford moved to Canada to teach at the University of Guelph and Sheridan College in 1978, she had studied and practiced dramatic arts, drawing, painting, and film in various countries. She had just previously undergone gender affirming surgery in the United States where she taught art at the university level (1968-1971) and decided to begin to present as a woman in Canada. Her transition was documented by the artist in both text and image. In 1985 she moved to Prince Edward Island after spending summers there for a number of years, exhibiting regularly in the Atlantic provinces. She began to write children’s books during this period. In 1991 she held a print-maker's workshop, and subsequent workshops resulted in the formation of the Printmaker's Council of P.E.I. During this period she aligned her work with pop art deploying a hard edge approach using saturated colors. Through the imagery she worked through her identity and gender issues. In 1999 she was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 2014 the University of Prince Edward Island created the Erica Rutherford Bursary which is granted to a student annually. In 2023/2024, her work was included in the Tate Gallery Exhibition “Women in Revolt.” A retrospective exhibition of Rutherford's work was also held at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown, P.E.I. in June 2024 before touring nationally. During this period she was invited to show her work at the Venice Biennale for 2024.
- Media used
- Film
- Painting
- Printmaking
- Education
- Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, England, 1939 - ?
- Académie Julian, Paris, 1945 - ?
- Memberships
- Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, 1998
- Printmakers Council Prince Edward Island, 1991 - founder
- File & Archive locations
- Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
- London Public Library, ON
- National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
- University of Calgary Library, AB
- University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
- Vancouver Art Gallery, BC - Library
- Winnipeg Art Gallery, MA - Clara Lander Library
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- Atlantic Print Exhibition Halifax, Nova Scotia: Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 1983
- Erica Rutherford : The Human Comedy Charlottetown, PEI: Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum, 1998
- Lines of Sight : Bell, Collins, Rice, Roe, Rutherford, Woolnough : An Exhibition of Drawing by Six Artists of Prince Edward Island Charlottetown, PEI: Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum, 1989., 1989
- "Confederation Centre Art Gallery hosts Erica Rutherford Exhibition until June 4." Guardian (Charlottetown) 07 Apr 2006: C2
- "Two Artists to share Senior Arts Award: Presentation to be made by Lt.-Gov. Leonce Bernard to Erica Rutherford and Barry Jeeves in October." Guardian (Charlottetown) 11 Sep 2001: A4
- Cole, Sally. "Erica Rutherford realizes a Dream." Guardian (Charlottetown) 07 Sep, 2001: C1
- Gallant, Isabelle. “Years after her Death, a Trailblazing Transgender P.E.I. Artist will be Part of Prestigious Venice Show in 2024.” C.B.C. Television 23 Mar. 2024
- Gee, Skana. "A Complex Search for Art and Identity.” Daily News (Charlottetown) 30 Jul 2002: 29
- Hayward, Eva et al. "As in Trans Art." Transitions in Art, Culture, and Politics. edited by S. Ponzanesi Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2023
http://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/76684 - Heller, Jules and Nancy. North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century New York: Garland, 1995
- 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
- McDonald-Rissanen, Mary. Choosing the Island "through the warp and woof of time": Women who made Twentieth Century Prince Edward Island Canada their Home Charlottetown, PEI: Self-published, 2021
- Rutherford, Erica, et al. Three from P.E.I. Rutherford, Woolnough, Chodorow Halifax, Nova Scotia: Mount Saint Vincent University, Art Gallery, 1983
- Tate Britain (Gallery), et al. Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the U.K. 1970-90 London, England: Tate Publishing, 2023
- Williamson, Moncrieff. Island Visual Artists ’84 : An Exhibition Representing the Work of Island Visual Artists Charlottetown, PEI: Holland College, School of Visual Arts Gallery, 1984
Writings by- Lear, Edward; Illustrated by E. Rutherford. The Owl and the Pussycat Montreal: Tundra Books, 1986
- Rutherford, Erica. Dance for Cats (or Pas De Chats) Charlottetown, PEI: Ragweed Press, 1988
- Rutherford, Erica. Nine Lives : The Autobiography of Erica Rutherford Charlottetown, PEI: Ragweed Press, 1993
