Artist Hilda Woolnough. Image: hildawoolnough.com
HILDA WOOLNOUGH
Hilda Woolnough (1934 – 2007) is a well-renowned visual artist who had been a resident of Prince Edward Island for more than 30 years. She was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) in 2000 and her work is in many public and private collections including the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Canada Council Art Bank and the Confederation Centre of the Arts.
Woolnough was a teacher and tireless champion of artist's rights and opportunities, serving on the boards of many professional provincial and federal arts organizations. She was a driving force behind The Phoenix Gallery, The Gallery-On-Demand, the Great George Street Gallery, The Arts Guild, the Printmakers Council and the Student Art Expo.
Hilda Woolnough, Guantanamo 1, 2004-05
Hilda Woolnough, Guantanamo 2, 2004-05
She was born in England and studied at the Chelsea School of Art in London, graduating in Painting in 1955. Woolnough immigrated to Canada in 1957, settling in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1965 she headed to the San Miguel de Allende Instituto in Mexico, where she studied experimental etching for two years, graduating with a Master's of Fine Art degree in graphics. Back in London, she did post-graduate work at the Central School of Art and Design in metal techniques. After designing the etching and lithography departments at the Jamaica School of Art in Kingston, Jamaica, Woolnough found her way to PEI.
Hilda Woolnough, Timepiece: The Hours (#9). Image: robosapiens.org
Hilda Woolnough, Timepiece: The Hours (#13). Image: robosapiens.org
In 1999 Hilda Woolnough received the Adrien Arsenault Senior Arts Award for "contribution to the arts in Prince Edward Island"
Woolnough most often worked in series, exploring an idea fully, guided by both intellect and intuition. Nature and the human form provide a starting point, but she moved beyond the representational to a deeper, more universal expression.
"I'm interested in evolution of plants, land, the world," Woolnough once said in a interview. "There are stages in the growth of the brain that are reptilian or flower-like. They're proof that we are all the sum of our parts, like the land or sea."
Hilda Woolnough, New Drawings: 2007, Guantanamo1, 2007. Image: hildawoolnough.com
Hilda Woolnough, New Drawings: 2007, Guantanamo7, 2007. Image: hildawoolnough.com
Hilda Woolnough, New Drawings: 2007, Guantanamo10, 2007. Image: hildawoolnough.com
To read the obituary in the PEI Guardian, please click HERE.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Underrated Canadian artist: Hilda Woolnough, RCA
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2 comments:
Great choice for an Underrated Canadian Artist. Thanks for this.
Great that Hilda is being recognised on this site.
Her work "Guantanamo" has been up at The Point gallery on Salt Spring Island. B.C., to mark the 6th. anniversary of the incarceration Jan.12th. to 20th.
We've had a great response to it so far and will be showing it again March 12th. to April 13th.
for more information e-mail me at pointgallery@telus.net.
In my opinion "Guantanamo" should be shown across Canada. Feel very privileged to have it at this time.
Margaret Day, owner/curator Point Gallery
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