Erica Rutherford

Erica Rutherford (1 February 1923 in Edinburgh – 11 April 2008 in Charlottetown) was a British-Canadian artist, filmmaker and writer. She received the Father Adrien Arsenault Senior Arts Award and was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1999). She was the first Prince Edward Island artist to be featured at the Venice Biennale.

Early life and education Erica Rutherford was born Eric Rutherford on 1 February 1923 in Edinburgh, Scotland, to David and Isabel Rutherford. In 1928, the family moved to Portsmouth, England. Rutherford studied at St. John's College in Southsea, and entered the Dartmouth Royal Naval College in 1937, spending a year as a cadet on HMS Conway in Liverpool.

In 1939, Rutherford studied dramatic art at the Royal Academy in London. At this time, Rutherford's artwork started receiving significant recognition with a series of solo exhibits at London's Leicester Galleries. in which she discusses what she described as gender dysphoria.

Rutherford had a great influence on the Prince Edward Island art community. She acted as a formal and informal mentor for many in the community. In 1991, she held the first print-maker's workshop attracting the best artists in the country. Eventually it led to the formation of the Printmaker's Council of the P.E.I association.

Erica Rutherford died on 11 April 2008 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, at the age of 85. Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown (2006)

Collections

Arts Council of Great Britain; Burnaby Art Gallery, British Columbia; Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The government of Prince Edward Island Art Collection; Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri; University of Wales, Cardiff;

Books

The Owl and the Pussycat (1986) Yoga for Cats (1987) Dance for Cats (1988) Nine Lives: The Autobiography of Erica Rutherford (1993) An Island Alphabet (1994)

Filmography Jim Comes to Jo'Burg (1949, producer) Also known as African Jim.