Nan Lawson Cheney (1897–1985) was a Canadian painter and medical artist.

Career

Cheney was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia and spent part of her childhood in Havana, Cuba. She studied at the Newcombe College Art School, Tulane University, New Orleans, La. (c. 1917-1918); and with Max Broedel at the School of Medical Illustration, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. (1920-1921). She then was employed as a medical illustrator at McGill University, Mtl. (1921-1924). She studied fine art with J.W. Beatty at the Ontario College of Art Summer School, Port Hope, Ont.; with

Franklin Brownell Franklin Brownell (born Peleg Franklin Brownell, also known as Franklin Peleg Brownell) (July 27, 1857 – March 13, 1946) born in New Bedford, Massachusetts was a landscape painter, draughtsman and teacher active in Canada. He artistic career i ...

, Art Assoc. of Ottawa (c. 1926); with Aldro T. Hibbard, Summer School of Drawing & Painting, Rockport, Mass. (1927); with Lilias Torrance Newton, Art Assoc. of Montreal (c. 1934); and with Alexandre Iacovleff, School of the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

(1936). In the 1930's and 40's she travelled widely throughout B.C., painting landscapes and industrial subjects.A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 (online only), by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker National Gallery of Canada / Musée des beaux-arts du Canada In 1924, she married Dr. Hill Cheney. In 1937, the couple moved to Vancouver, and Nan Cheney became the University of British Columbia's first medical artist. She held this position until 1962. In Vancouver, Cheney worked with Group of Seven member Lawren Harris and Jock Macdonald, accompanying them on sketching trips. She also worked closely with her friend Emily Carr. ''Dear Nan: Letters of Emily Carr, Nan Cheney, and Humphrey Toms'' (edited by Doreen Walker) was published in 1990. She showed with the British Columbia Society of Fine Arts until 1950. She taught at the

Banff School of Fine Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

, Alta. (1936); and taught at U.B.C., Van. (1951-1962). Her work is included in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada (which holds Cheney's portrait of Carr) and the

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) is an art museum located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Situated in Rockland, Victoria, the museum occupies a building complex; made up of the Spencer Mansion, and the Exhibition Galleries. The ...

. She was affiliated with the British Columbia Society of Fine Arts (member in 1937); the

Federation of Canadian Artists The Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) is an association of artists in Canada founded in Toronto in 1941. The FCA soon had chapters across the country, and was one of the main forces behind formation of the Canada Council in 1957. After this, the ...

(1941); and the British Columbia Society of Artists (1950) (she was made a life member in 1957). She died in Vancouver in 1985. The Nan Cheney fonds is in the UBC Library, University of British Columbia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheney, Nan Lawson 20th-century Canadian painters 20th-century Canadian women artists 1897 births 1985 deaths Canadian women painters People from Windsor, Nova Scotia Artists from Nova Scotia Medical illustrators 20th-century women painters