Sophia Theresa "Sophie" Pemberton or Sophie Pemberton Deane-Drummond (13 February 1869 - 31 October 1959) was a Canadian painter considered to be British Columbia's first professional woman artist. Despite the social limitations placed on female artists at the time, she made a noteworthy contribution to Canadian art and, in 1899, was the first Canadian woman to win the ''Prix Julian'' from the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

for her portraiture. She was a near contemporary of Emily Carr, and the two artists spent much of their lives in the same small city.

Biography

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Sophie, as she was known throughout her life, was the daughter of Teresa Jane Grautoff and Joseph Despard Pemberton (1821–1893), a successful executive with the Hudson's Bay Company and the first

Surveyor-General A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post. The following surveyor gen ...

of Vancouver Island. She first studied art at Mrs. Cridge’s Reformed Episcopal School. Working from her studio in the family home, Pemberton aimed at becoming a professional artist. At the age of 13, she exhibited her first work in a local contest and received an honourable mention, thereby launching her career. In 1890, she travelled to London and studied with Mr. Cope at the

South Kensington School 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 ...

,Studio-Talk. (July 1909): p. 129 where she excelled in her studies, receiving first-class grades in drawing from life, the antique, and still life. She also studied at the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

. While in London, she shared a studio with Swedish artist,

Anna Nordgren Anna Christina Nordgren (13 May 1847 – 10 September 1916 ) was a Swedish painter and draftswoman. She specialized in portraits and genre scenes. Her work is mostly a variation on the Academic style and she remained unimpressed by Impressionis ...

, with whom she went on a sketching trip to Brittany in the mid-1890s. By the late 1890s, she was enrolled at the

, studying with Jean Paul Laurens and

Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant (also known as Benjamin-Constant), born Jean-Joseph Constant (10 June 1845 – 26 May 1902), was a French painter and etcher best known for his Oriental subjects and portraits. Biography Benjamin-Constant was bor ...

. In 1899, she had the honour of being the first woman to receive the Gold Medal awarded annually for the best work done in all 27 student ateliers in Paris, the Prix Julian. When she returned to North America, she studied in San Francisco. Pemberton painted at a time when her chosen media had been the domain of men. English and European influences can be seen in her work, primarily from the tradition of British portraiture and the Barbizon school but there are indications that she was aware of the French Impressionists. The painter of both portraits and landscapes, Pemberton was the first artist from the province of British Columbia to receive international acclaim when her work was exhibited 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 (1897). Pemberton also taught painting to local female artists in Victoria. In 1909, she did the artistic decoration for the non-denominational Pemberton Memorial Chapel gifted by her family to Victoria's

Royal Jubilee Hospital Royal Jubilee Hospital is a 500-bed general hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada located about east of the city centre, in the Jubilee neighbourhood (itself named after the hospital). Overview Its name commemorates the Golden Jubilee o ...

. Pemberton showed her work at the Art Association of Montreal (1895 and in 1910), the

in London (1897, 1898, 1901, 1904, 1907), the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

with honourable mention medal in 1899 for her painting ''Little Boy Blue'' (Art Gallery of Greater Victoria) (1899, and again in 1900 and 1903), in Victoria (1902, 1904), in Vancouver (1904), and in the

Canadian exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Canadian exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was the country's contribution to what was commonly called the St. Louis World's Fair, held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, in 1904. The exhibition included a showcase of Canadi ...

(the St. Louis World's Fair) (1904). She exhibited her work at the Doré Gallery in London in 1909 and with the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1904-1909). She also had work in the Island Arts and Crafts Society exhibitions in 1916, 1921, and 1922. A

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...

of her work was shown in 1947 at the precursor to 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 ...

(AGGV), at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1954, and a second one at the AGGV, the main repository of her work, in 1967. She alternated between living in England and Victoria, Canada but from 1947 until her death in 1959, lived in Victoria.

Memberships

She was elected an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1906 and was a member of the B.C. Society of Fine Arts.

Personal life

In 1905, she married Canon Arthur Beanlands, an Anglican priest, a widower and traveled with him to India. He died in 1917 and in 1920 she married Horace Deane-Drummond, who was older than her and indeed had children almost her age.

Death

Pemberton died on October 31, 1959 in Victoria and was interred there in the

Ross Bay Cemetery Ross Bay Cemetery is located at 1516 Fairfield Road in Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, Canada. Many historical figures from the early days of the province and colony of British Columbia are buried at Ross Bay. History The ceme ...

Works

Sophie Pemberton

Retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...

Exhibition, Vancouver Art Gallery (1954): * St. Maria Trastevere, Rome. Oil on Canvas: 23" x 18". Signed and dated: 1898. * Portrait of Horace Deane Drummond. Oil on Canvas: 27 1/2" x 22". 1925. * La Napoule, France. Oil on Board, 11 1/2" x 15". Signed and dated: 1926. * Woods, Dymock. Oil on Panel: 19 1/2" x 14". * Portrait of Armine Pemberton. Oil on Canvas: 19" x 15 1/2". Signed and dated: 1901. * Farmyard near Dieppe. Oil on Canvas: 18" x 25". Signed and dated: 1895. * Church at Fecamp. Oil on Canvas: 16" x 19". C. 1895. * Market, Rouen. Oil on Canvas: 12" x 18". C. 1895. * House Drive, Newport Ave., Victoria. Oil on Canvas: 13" x 17". 1928. * Paso Robles. Oil on Canvas: 15" x 24 1/2". * View of Victoria. Watercolour: 6" x 15". C. 1902. * Chinese Gardens. Watercolour: 9 1/2" x 17". Signed and dated: 1902. * B.C Coast Scene. Watercolour: 9" x 13". Signed and dated: 1895. * The Olympics from Vancouver Island. Oil on Canvas: 17 1/2" x 29 1/2". Signed and dated: 1908. * Girl with Blossoms. Oil on Canvas: 35" x 27". * Purcell's Home, Westminster. Oil on Canvas: 13" x 18". * Arbutus Trees, Vancouver Island. Oil on Canvas: 13" x 20 1/2". * Italian Peasant Woman. Oil on Canvas: 34" x 25". Signed and dated: 1903. * Negro Girl. Oil on Canvas: 23" x 19". Signed and dated: 1897. * Edge of a Wood. Oil on Canvas. 18" x 23". * Island Landscape. Oil on Canvas: 11 1/2" x 17 1/2". * Road, Vancouver Island. Oil on Canvas: 13 1/2" x 14 ". Signed and dated: 1908.

Publications

* "Art Lovers Crowd City Centre To View Drummond Collection". Victoria Colonist, B.C. (August 10, 1949): p. 21. rt Gallery of Ontario, Reference Library/ref> * "Artist Member of B.C. Pioneer Family Back in Canada After Long Absence". Montreal Daily Star P.Q. (August 13, 1949). * "Painting Displayed". The Daily Colonist Victoria, B.C. (March 26, 1947). * "Of City Artist Now on Display". The Daily Colonist Victoria, B.C. (March 29, 1947). * "Former Victoria Artist Exhibits Pictures Here". Victoria Daily Times, B.C. (March 28, 1947). * Learoyd, Eileen. "Artist From Pioneer Family Home After 23 Years Abroad". Victoria Colonist, B.C. (August 7, 1949). * "Paintings, $7,000 Left to Art Gallery". Victoria Colonist, B.C. (November 13, 1959). * Palette. "Noted B.C. Artist's Work At Gallery". Vancouver Province, B.C. (February 20, 1954). * Palette. "Top B.C. Painter Shows At Gallery". Vancouver Province, B.C. (February 27, 1954). * London Evening Free Press, Ont (April 13, 1954). * "Exposition conjointe". Le Soleil, Quebec, P.Q. (Aug 20, 1949). * ""Old Pewter" Luncheon Topic. Vancouver Province, B.C. (January 30, 1954). * Uhthoff, Ina D.D. "Some Emily Carr Paintings Now on Display First Time. The Daily Colonist, Victoria, B.C. (July 7, 1954). * Scott, Andrew. Vancouver Sun, B.C. (October 27, 1978).

References

External links

Sophie Pemberton
on

Sophie Pemberton on Artnet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pemberton, Sophie 1869 births 1959 deaths

Sophie Pemberton Sophia Theresa "Sophie" Pemberton or Sophie Pemberton Deane-Drummond (13 February 1869 - 31 October 1959) was a Canadian painter considered to be British Columbia's first professional woman artist. Despite the social limitations placed on female a ...

19th-century Canadian painters 20th-century Canadian painters 19th-century Canadian women artists 20th-century Canadian women artists Landscape artists Canadian portrait painters Artists from Victoria, British Columbia Canadian women painters Académie Julian alumni Canadian Impressionist painters Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts