Ella May Jacoby Walker (14 May 1892 – 6 April 1960) was a Canadian American artist, author, and composer.

Music

Walker was born in Minnesota. Her family moved to Dundurn, Saskatchewan, in 1902. She studied music at

McGill Conservatory The Schulich School of Music (also known as Schulich) is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 555, rue Sherbrooke Ouest (555, Sherbrooke Street West). The faculty was named after benef ...

and

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. Her teachers included

Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...

, Arne Oldberg, Dean P.C. Sutkin, Alfred White, and Norman Wilks. In 1913 she married Osman J. Walker and they had two sons, Jim and Wilfrid. The family moved to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Canada, in 1920, where Walker taught piano, helped stage theatrical productions, and joined the Edmonton Art Club. She worked as an organist at Knox Church and played organ for silent movies in the Allen Theatre.

Art

During the 1930s, Walker met

Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer, LL. D. (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-Canadian painter, member of the Group of Seven and educator. He is known primarily as a landscape painter and for his paintings of ships in dazzle camouflage. Early life ...

, a

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...

Canadian landscape painter, who inspired her to change her focus from music to art. She sculpted and painted historic buildings in Edmonton. Walker served as president of the Edmonton Chapter of the Alberta Society of Artists and as vice-president of the Edmonton Art Club. She taught sculpture and painting through the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

Faculty of Extension and was a member of the Faculty Women’s Club.

Writing

Walker wrote articles, including music criticism, for the

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

and the People's Weekly newspaper. She wrote a novel of short stories about Edmonton's history and development called ''Fortress North''.

Legacy

When Edmonton's Archives and Landmarks Committee was created in 1947, Walker joined and remained a member through 1953. She was instrumental in researching, identifying, and preserving local historic landmarks. After Walker's death, her sons donated her artwork and records to the Edmonton City Archives and created the Ella May Walker Memorial Award, a scholarship for students at the University of Alberta. In 1975, Walker posthumously received one of the first Edmonton Historical Board Recognition Awards. In addition to her paintings, sculptures, and novel ''Fortress North'', Walker composed a piano piece called ''Whirlwind Waltz'', and a work for chorus called ''The Eternal Guest''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Ella May Canadian women composers Canadian women painters Canadian women novelists 1892 births 1960 deaths 20th-century Canadian artists 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian women writers Northwestern University alumni American emigrants to Canada