Born December 13, 1871 · Died March 2, 1945

— "Our Emily" —

Victoria-born Emily Carr is British Columbia's most famous artist. Her art and writings are recognized across Canada. Emily grew up with a passion for art and a love of nature, especially animals. After high school she studied art in San Francisco. Later she travelled to England and France to refine her style. A trip to the native village of Ucluelet in 1899 opened the world of Aboriginal culture that inspired her to paint images of the vanishing totem poles in their natural setting.

An art exibit in Eastern Canada in 1927 brought her to the attention of a wider public. Carr's later paintings drew inspiration from the deep forest itself, painted in vivid strokes of colour. After 1939, when ill health curtailed her painting, she turned to writing, winning the Governor General's award in 1941 for Klee Wyck. She went on to publish more books and win new recognition as a writer.

Emily Carr celebrated the British Columbia landscape in an original and vigorous way, from the "turmoil of growth" to the "space and glory of the sky." A person of deep spirituality, she reflected upon nature and humanity. She is a kindred spirit for all times.

"To have been permitted to give pleasure by writing and painting the plain simple things of my life fills me with the deepest gratitude."
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"Our Emily"
October 13, 2010
Dedicated to honour Victoria's best-known citizen,
eminent artist and acclaimed writer, Emily Carr

[List of Donors]

Created by sculptor Barbara Paterson, Emily Carr is seated outdoors, an open sketchbook on her lap, with her monkey Woo on her shoulder and her dog Billie next to her. "Our Emily" invites you to pat Woo or Billie and to visit her childhood home "Emily Carr House" in the neighbourhood of James Bay.

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