Forgot your password?

• Book Reviews

Support Canada's History in other ways (more)

The Life and Art of Edythe Hembroff-Schleicher is the sixth in the series The Unheralded Artists of BC and the second written by Christina Johnson-Dean. What a pity that it has taken this long to bring this relatively unknown artist to light.

Edythe Hembroff-Schleicher was born in 1906 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, to well-off parents, and the family of five moved to Victoria in 1912. Growing up in a time when women were encouraged to pursue the arts, Hembroff-Schleicher attended the Island Arts and Crafts Club under the tutelage of instructor Margaret Kitto. In 1925 she trained at the California School of Arts and Crafts, and then, in 1927, she attended the California School of Fine Arts.

The attractive young Hembroff-Schleicher moved to Paris to attend the École des Beaux-Arts with her friend Marian Allardt in 1928. The duo travelled Europe sketching and painting, and in 1930 Hembroff-Schleicher had a painting selected for a Paris salon exhibit. Upon her return to Victoria that year, a local newspaper printed an article showing a photograph of her wearing a gown she had handpainted — which led to a phone call from artist Emily Carr.

Despite their thirty-five-year age difference, distinct personalities and art styles, and lives that took different paths — Hembroff-
Schleicher married twice and worked first for the RCAF, then in the civil service — the phone call resulted in a lifelong friendship. The pair kept in touch and took a number of productive sketching trips.

During Carr’s life, and following her death, Hembroff-Schleicher helped to promote the senior artist’s work. With the help of Hembroff-Schleicher’s second husband, a University of British Columbia professor, she organized several exhibits of Carr’s paintings at the University of British Columbia. Hembroff-Schleicher also wrote two books about Carr.

The Life and Art of Edythe Hembroff-Schleicher reveals a person who was not only a close friend of Emily Carr but a creative force in her own right. The photographs help to elucidate her life, while the illustrations show the vivid colours and strength of her art.