Annie Gardner Barr (29 July 1864 – 29 June 1921) was a Canadian artist and social reformer. Barr graduated from the Brantford Young Ladies' College in 1883, receiving several awards, and went on to study art at Alma Ladies' College in

St. Thomas, Ontario St. Thomas is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It gained its city charter on March 4, 1881. The city is also the seat for Elgin County, although it is independent of the county. At the time of the 2021 Census, the population of the city wa ...

. In 1893 she graduated, and also received mention for a

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

she exhibited at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago. In 1895, Barr married George W. Brown and moved to

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

, where she was to spend the rest of her life. Her husband was a prominent

homesteader Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres * Homestead principle, a legal concept ...

, lawyer, businessman and politician, and as his wife she gained considerable influence. From 1910 to 1915 he served as

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of the province. Barr was active in the local

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church and, through the church, became an active supporter of the Local Council of Women, serving as an executive in the organization. The council brought together a number of women's organizations in which Barr was active, including the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Young Women's Christian Association, the

Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) is a women's charitable organization based in Canada. It provides scholarships, bursaries, book prizes, and awards, and pursues other philanthropic and educational projects in various communities ac ...

, the Women's Musical Club, the Aberdeen Association, the Hospital Aid, the Women's Educational Club, and the Kannata Club. She is not known to have been a vocal

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, but she was honorary president of the Provincial Equal Franchise Board in 1915 (Saskatchewan women achieved suffrage the next year). During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she volunteered for the

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and other war relief organizations. Barr and her husband had two children: Beatrice Annie, born 1897, and Gordon Barr, born 1901. She died in 1921, her husband having predeceased her by two years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Annie Gardner 1864 births 1921 deaths Canadian activists Canadian women painters Artists from Ontario Artists from Regina, Saskatchewan 19th-century Canadian painters 20th-century Canadian painters 19th-century Canadian women artists 20th-century Canadian women artists