Annora Brown: Celebrating International Women's Day/Week

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Annora Brown OCA, CPE, ASA (1899-1987), "Pasque Flower (Crocus)," 1961

watercolor and casein on paper, 10" x 14"

Celebrate International Women's Day / Week with works by Annora Brown OCA, CPE, ASA (1899-1987)

Annora Brown was influenced by the surroundings where she grew up: the country around Fort MacLeod and its people. In her later years, she said that she could still remember hearing the drumming of First Nations groups rolling across the plains. In addition, she remembered the stories told by the First Nations, old-timers, clergymen, and government officials, regarding the exploration and surveying of the land and the relationships between the First Nations and settlers. The flowers and plants of the Fort MacLeod area, which she commonly used as subject matter, influenced Brown. She tried to paint the feel of the flowers, as opposed to their biological structure. She had extensive knowledge of Alberta's flowers, as she traveled throughout the province, taking long hikes to study different flowers in full bloom, at numerous times of the year. Her knowledge and talent led the Glenbow Foundation to commission Brown to paint 200 pictures of different Alberta wildflowers. It took her three years to complete this assignment, since so many admirers bought pieces; in the end, she completed 500 pieces.

Annora Brown attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, her teachers, among others, were Arthur Lismer and J.E.H. MacDonald. She received many scholarships and graduated with a diploma in art. In 1929, she taught at Mount Royal College in Calgary, but returned to Fort MacLeod in 1931, where she did fieldwork on art and handicrafts for the Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta. From 1945 to 1950, Brown taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts.