Josephine Crease, Watercolour Landscape Artist

Artist: Josephine Crease 1864-1947
Source: BC Provincial Archives
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This delightful watercolour by Josephine Crease is part of the BC provincial artchives. Its skillfully executed
with a limited palette and it is a careful representation of  British Columbia scenery.  I like the way the artist uses both an exacting hand to paint small details while at the same time she balances her work with a loose flow of water in the background trees.  I like the action of the wind in her bottom right tree. This adds an additional dimension to the work. Anyone who has ever painted in waters can see the proficiency and skill of the artist.

CREASE, Josephine
Born
New Westminster, British Columbia, 1864
Died
Victoria, British Columbia, 1947
Biography synopsis
Of all the Crease family artists, Josephine had the most enduring interest in art, particularly in sketching and in watercolour landscapes. Although she took private lessons intermittently throughout her life, her greatest opportunity to study art came when she and her sister, Susan, were sent to England to meet their relatives. There, they studied art in the Ladies' Department, King's College, London, where they took antique and life classes. Josephine was also fond of organizing sketching expeditions, and frequently explored various areas of Vancouver Island searching for new landscapes to represent. A close friend of many of Victoria's upper class women artists, including Sophie Pemberton, the artist was a founding member of the Island Arts and Crafts Society and exhibited her work in their annual shows from 1919-1941. In addition, she also served on the committee of the Society's School of Handicraft and Design and became its Honourary President in 1939. Other association memberships include the Sketching Club (1900-09; president in 1903), the Drawing and Library Club (1902), the Women's Canadian Club and the Alexandra Club (treasurer 1898). She also participated in exhibitions of the British Columbia Society of Fine Arts (1924), the Vancouver Art Gallery (1934-40) and the Victoria Fair, where she won first prize for her watercolours in 1901 and 1906. Her work can be found in the collections of the Provincial Archives of British Columbia and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

source: Canadian Women Art History Initiative - Artist Database
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