Helen Parsons Shepherd LL. D. (16 January 1923 – 9 May 2008) was a

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

artist, known for her portraits and still-life paintings. Her father was the poet R.A. Parsons, and her brother was the painter Paul Parsons.

Career

As an adult, Parsons studied at the

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...

. In 1944, she was accepted into the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

, where she was influenced by the Canadian portrait painter John Martin Alfsen. Parsons studied under

Franklin Carmichael Franklin Carmichael (May 4, 1890 – October 24, 1945) was a Canadian artist and member of the Group of Seven. Though he was primarily famous for his use of watercolours, he also used oil paints, charcoal and other media to capture the Ontario ...

of Canada's Group of Seven in her first year at OCA.Grattan, Patricia and Peter Gard. Helen Parsons Shepherd and Reginald Shepherd: Four Decades. St. John's, Newfoundland: Memorial University Art Gallery, 1989. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours in 1948. That same year, she married Reginald Shepherd, a fellow student and artist. She moved to St. John's with Shepherd and co-founded the Newfoundland Academy of Art (NAA), the first art school in the province, where she taught from 1949–1961. After the Shepherds closed the NAA in 1961, Parsons Shepherd devoted her time to commissioned portraits. These included numerous portraits of public officials and prominent members of the community, including the speakers of the House of Assembly, mayors of St. John's, and presidents of the Memorial University of Newfoundland. In 1976, she was commissioned to paint

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, and in 1984 painted the official portrait of then Governor General

Edward Schreyer Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 22nd since Canadian Confederation. Schreyer was born and educated in Manitoba, and was first electe ...

. In 1978, Parsons Shepherd was elected to the

Royal Canadian Academy of Art The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

. She received an honorary doctorate from

in 1988. The Memorial University Art Gallery (now

The Rooms The Rooms is a cultural facility in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The facility opened in 2005 and houses the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Muse ...

Provincial Art Gallery) organized a solo exhibition of her work in 1975, which later toured Canada. The provincial gallery also held two major retrospectives of Parsons Shepherd and her husband, the first in 1989, called ''Four Decades'', and the second in 2005–06, called ''Reginald and Helen Shepherd: A Retrospective''. Their work was also the subject of the 2005 book, ''Reginald Shepherd, Helen Parsons Shepherd: A Life Composed'', edited by Ronald Rompkey.Rompkey, Ronald. Reginald Shepherd, Helen Parsons Shepherd: A Life Composed. St. John's, Newfoundland: Breakwater Books, 2005. Parsons Shepherd's artwork is part of private and public collections including that of The Rooms, the

Beaverbrook Art Gallery The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is a public art gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is named after William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, who funded the building of the gallery and assembled the original collection. It opened i ...

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, and the Power Corporation in Montreal, Quebec. Parsons Shepherd worked on her art in St. John's during the winter and at Clarke's Beach, NL during the summer. She died in 2008 at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons Shepherd, Helen 1923 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Canadian painters People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Artists from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian women painters 20th-century Canadian women artists