Kathryn Bridge

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Kathryn Bridge
Born1955 (1955)
Victoria, British Columbia
EducationBA in Art History, University of Victoria (1977); MA in History, University of Victoria (1984). Ph.D, University of Victoria (2012)
Known forwriter, curator, archivist, historian
SpouseKevin Neary

Kathryn Bridge (born in 1955) is a Canadian writer, curator, archivist and historian who lives in Victoria, B.C. In 1978, she began to work at the British Columbia Archives (now called the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM)) where from 2012 to 2015 she was a Deputy Director. In 2017, she retired and was honoured as Curator Emerita. [1] [2]

Contents

Bridge has made and is still making an important contribution to writing and curating exhibitions about British Columbia's history and artists, particularly about its best-known painter Emily Carr. [3] Her writing about Carr and editing of Carr in her many publications on Carr has been called by her peers "superb". [4] She specializes as well in the history of Canada, with monographs on pioneering women, and the First Nations; and western artists including Sophie Pemberton. As an independent curator and writer, her emphasis is on Canadian women’s history and art history, as well as children and childhood in 19th century western Canada. [1]

Biography

Bridge was born and grew up in Victoria, B.C. She received her BA in Art History, an MA in History (1984) and her PhD (2012) from the University of Victoria (UVic). From 1978 to 1997, she served as Archivist at the British Columbia Archives (BC Archives), as Manager, BC Archives (now Royal British Columbia Museum (RCBM)) (1997-2012), and Manager, Access Initiatives, RCBM (2010-2012), as well as Curator of History and Art, RBCM (2015-2017) and a Deputy Director and Head of Knowledge and Academic Relations (2012-2015). From 2014 to 2017, she served as an Executive team member for UVic's Landscapes of Injustice project, a 7-year Social Science and Humanities Research Council funded Partnership Grant which focusses on the dispossession of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. [2] She was made a member of the Adjunct Faculty, Department of History, UVic. In 2015. In 2017, she retired from the RBCM to work as an independent curator and historian and was appointed Curator Emerita. [1]

Curating and writing

Bridge curated Emily Carr: Artist, Author, Eccentric, Genius (RBCM, 2000) which the Globe and Mail said gave Carr the "royal treatment", [5] The Other Emily: Redefining Emily Carr in which Bridge paired paintings by the contemporary portrait artist Manon Elder with the work of Emily Carr (RBCM, 2011) (RBCM made a documentary about it) [6] [7] and Unexpected: the life and art of Sophie Pemberton (1869-1959) (Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, (2023)) about which she said:

"Unexpected is learning about a significant Canadian artist in our midst whose actions we now see as inspirational, who with a few others, led the way for Canadian women artists overseas, challenging gender barriers within the profession". [8]

She co-curated Emily Carr: Fresh Seeing. Modernism and the West (Audain Art Museum, 2018) as well as compiling a draft catalogue raisonné for the Emily Carr material in the RBCM/ BC Archives. [1] Bridge's many publications (she is called "prolific") [9] are thoughtfully written and cast new light on their subjects. She said of one of her many books on Carr, "Emily Carr in London, 1899-1904":

"My motivation in writing this book was to flesh out these years and to use today's technologies-websites and digitized archival records-to learn the true identities of people she made anonymous in her writings through the use of fictional names.... I was able to make connections and decipher identities, to create a much more accurate chronology of her whereabouts and interactions, and to make connections between Carr and her peers." [10]

At the RBCM, she served as lead or team member for many other exhibitions such as El Dorado: Gold Rush in British Columbia (2015) as well as giving talks and writing papers on a variety of subjects, including "Emily Carr in England" and at a symposium opening the international exhibition of Emily Carr: From the Forest to the Sea, at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London UK (2014). [1]

In 2023, she wrote Sophie Pemberton: Life & Work for the Art Institute of Canada, available online. [11]

Selected publications

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Carr</span> Canadian artist and writer (1871–1945)

Emily Carr was a Canadian artist who was inspired by the monumental art and villages of the First Nations and the landscapes of British Columbia. She also was a vivid writer and chronicler of life in her surroundings, praised for her "complete candour" and "strong prose". Klee Wyck, her first book, published in 1941, won the Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction and this book and others written by her or compiled from her writings later are still much in demand today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Pemberton</span> Canadian painter (1869–1959)

Sophia Theresa "Sophie" Pemberton was a Canadian painter who was 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 woman to win the Prix Julian from the Académie Julian for portraiture. Pemberton also was the first artist from British Columbia to receive international acclaim when her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London (1897).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal British Columbia Museum</span> History museum in Victoria, British Columbia

The Royal British Columbia Museum, founded in 1886, is a history museum in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The "Royal" title was approved by Queen Elizabeth II and bestowed by Prince Philip in 1987, to coincide with a royal tour of that year. The museum merged with the British Columbia Provincial Archives in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Carr University of Art and Design</span> Canadian art school in Vancouver, Canada

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The Honourable Ronald Ian Cheffins is a professor emeritus of political science and law and the University of Victoria. He was the first lawyer to be appointed directly to the British Columbia court of appeal in 1985. He held the seat until resigning 2 years later in 1987 to return to legal and scholarly practice after finding judicial work too "uncongenial". In 1991 he served as the Vice-chair on the Law Reform Commission of British Columbia. He is an expert on the Canadian Constitution and has advised five past lieutenants-governor. He is a weekly Friday guest on CFAX 1070's Adam Stirling show, where he discusses both local and world politics.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Kathryn Bridge biography, Kathryn Bridge file, National Gallery of Canada, Library and Archives
  2. 1 2 "Staff". staff.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca. Royal BC Museum. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  3. ↑ Amos, Robert. "Article". www.timescolonist.com. Times Colonist, 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  4. ↑ Browne, Colin. "Article". thebcreview.ca. BC Review. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Gibson, Katherine. "Article". www.theglobeandmail.com. Globe and Mail, July 14, 2001. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "Documentary". www.youtube.com. RBCM. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "Film: Searching for Emily". /www.imdb.com/. RBCM. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Article". www.saanichnews.com. Saanich News. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Faculty". staff.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca. RBCM. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Review, 2015". abcbookworld.com. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  11. 1 2 "book". www.aci-iac.ca. Art Institute. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  12. ↑ Lederman, Marsha. "Article". www.theglobeandmail.com. Globe and Mail, Nov 5, 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
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