Lorna Russell in her garden studio. (courtesy Art Placement, Saskatoon)
Saskatoon landscape painter Lorna Russel has died at the age of 89.
Her works are in the collections of the Remai Modern in Saskatoon, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Kamloops Art Gallery in the B.C. Interior, and the Canada Council Art Bank in Ottawa.
She had solo exhibitions at the former Mendel Art Gallery and Art Placement, both in Saskatoon, as well as the McIntyre Gallery in Regina, among others.
Born in Saskatoon in 1933, Russell became fascinated by the prairie landscape as a girl, when she accompanied her father, a plant pathologist and botanist with the University of Saskatchewan, on trips to grasslands around the province.
She completed a bachelor's degree in science at the university in 1956. She earned a teaching certificate in 1968 and went on to teach art in the public school system before pursuing painting on a full-time basis.
Her family remembers her as a passionate artist and educator, a musician and a dog lover, whose “eye for beauty” was reflected in her garden and her collection of statues, ornaments and paintings.