Katherine Elizabeth Wallis (1861–1957) was a Canadian sculptor, a watercolor painter and poet. She traveled all over the world, observing art, studying sculpture and advancing her artistic career. Wallis is best known for bronze sculptures of animals and infants.
Biography
Early life
Katherine Wallis was born in 1861 outside of
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...
, in a small town called Merino. Although Wallis, and her sister Adah, grew up on a farm they were encouraged to pursue their art. Each member of the Wallis family was artistically gifted including her mother who enjoyed music and singing.
Wallis role models were her mother's friends, including
Catharine Parr Traill
Catharine Parr Traill (born Strickland; 9 January 1802 – 29 August 1899) was an English-Canadian author and naturalist who wrote about life in Canada, particularly what is now Ontario (then the colony of Upper Canada). In the 1830s, Canada ...
, her sister
Susanna Moodie
Susanna Moodie (born Strickland; 6 December 1803 – 8 April 1885) was an English-born Canadian author who wrote about her experiences as a settler in Canada, which was a British colony at the time.
Biography
Susanna Moodie was born in Bungay, ...
and the painter
Anne Langton.
For a brief time, Wallis attended the Toronto Art School known today as
OCAD University
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 ...
, but in the late 1800s there were few options for women practicing art professionally. During this time, women were not permitted to take life drawing classes with nude models. Langton told the Wallis sisters, "If you wish to obtain your dream, you cannot stay here."
At this early time, Katherine Wallis had not yet realized she was interested in sculpture, but she knew that opportunities for female artists in Canada were limited.
Scotland (1878–1880)
Wallis and her sister Sussanna traveled to Scotland to visit their family. She enrolled in the
Edinburgh School of Arts in 1878. While at the
Scottish National Gallery
The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...
as a copyist, Wallis was able to earn a living making copies of famous art works. In 1880, Wallis's mother became ill and the sisters returned home to take care of the farm. After her stay in Canada and tending the family's farm for the next thirteen years, Katherine Wallis had the freedom and financial stability to return to Europe.
London (1893–1899)
At 32, Wallis returned to Europe with her sister Adah. They settled in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
, Germany, and spent two years travelling around Europe, viewing famous paintings, sculptures and architecture. In 1895, Katherine Wallis enrolled in the London's
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...
, RCA. She was taught by French-born sculptor
Édouard Lantéri
Édouard Lantéri (31 October 1848 – 22 December 1917) was a French-born British sculptor and medallist whose romantic French style of sculpting was seen as influential among exponents of New Sculpture. His name is also frequently spelle ...
, a former pupil of
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
. While working with Lantéri, Wallis realized her passion for sculpture. Lantéri also taught her in "
New Sculpture
New Sculpture was a movement in late 19th-century British sculpture with an emphasis on naturalistic poses and spiritual subjects. The movement was characterised by the production of free-standing statues and statuettes of 'ideal' figures from poe ...
", which consisted of small scale bronzes of domestic subjects, including women and small animals.
While studying at the RCA School of Design, she was awarded the RCA Bronze Medal. In 1897, Wallis received the Modeller's Free Scholarship, which allowed her to continue her studies for two more years until she decided to move to Paris.
Paris (1899–1939)
In Paris, Wallis focused on creating sculpture. Specifically, she enjoyed sculpting animals she observed at the Zoo. She met Oscar Waldmann in Paris at
Jardin des plantes, which functions as a modern-day zoo.
He encouraged her to submit one of her sculptures at the Exposition Universalle, which added to the recognition of her art. Wallis also exhibited her work at the spring salon in Paris. At this time, Wallis was studying animals and sculpting them into stone, marble and bronze. Notably, Wallis met
Auguste Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
in 1902. He encouraged her to sketch sculptures she saw at the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
. Rodin praised her figures' solid construction. Rodin wanted to see more of her work, but Wallis declined because her work was too hard to transport for his viewing, and because she already had great mentors like Lantéri and Waldmann.
In 1914, when World War I broke out, Wallis did not continue sculpting, but focused on the war efforts as a nurse in a Canadian Hospital in Paris. Her art was meant to be exhibited at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, but due to the war, it was postponed. Once World War I ended, Wallis returned to her artistic career. In 1929, she became the first Canadian elected as the Sociétaire of the Société National des Beaux-Arts for her sculpture ''La Lutte Pour la Vie''. In 1920, she spent three years exhibiting works in Peterborough, Ontario, before she returned to Paris. She also spent five months in Bosnia and Greece, working in relief and water colour. She sent her works to England and within one year she exhibited her sculptures in London, Liverpool, Leeds and Glasgow.
In 1936, when World War II broke out, she fled to California, which became her home for the rest of her life.
Santa Cruz (1939–1957)
![Santa Cruz Studio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Santa_Cruz_Studio.jpg)
The Santa Cruz Art League offered Wallis a personal exhibition, which she accepted. Wallis had a statewide show in the Santa Cruz Auditorium. Wallis was made a member of the National Society for Sanity in Art, which allowed her to exhibit once a year in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. Through this society, she received a prize for Excellence in Sculpture, an award she won twice.
In 1944, Wallis showed her sculptures ''Coming Always Nearer'' and ''Speed'' at the Santa Cruz Art League's Fifteenth Annual Exhibition. Later that year, she created a piece called ''Victory''; a woman who smiles as she carries a dove while holding an olive branch.
Notable works and accomplishments
Wallis had exhibitions at the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
in London during 1897, the Royal Canadian Academy from 1904 to 1937 and the National Gallery of Canada in 1928. Wallis received an honorable mention for her sculpture at the Exposition Universalle. She was not only an exceptional sculptor, but a painter and a poet. Wallis's poems were published as a collection entitled ''Chips from the Block''.
In 1947, the National Gallery of Canada purchased Wallis's most famous sculpture, ''La Lutte pour la Vie''. Upon her death, she bequeathed her art collection to the City of Peterborough and it is now part of the Peterborough Museum and Archives.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallis, Katherine
1861 births
1957 deaths
19th-century Canadian women artists
20th-century Canadian women artists
Alumni of the Royal College of Art
Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art
Artists from Ontario
Canadian women sculptors
OCAD University alumni
Canadian women painters
Canadian watercolourists