Erica Rutherford Remembered
The Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts, the Board of Directors, Members, and Staff note with sadness the passing of Island Artist Erica Rutherford.
Says Executive Director Darrin White “I started reading Erica’s autobiography ‘Nine Lives’ this week and have been enthralled with the richness and diversity in her life. I certainly regret that I didn’t get to know Erica better. Her contributions to the arts, here and around the world, are simply amazing.”
Those who knew Erica well knew also of her many careers, her brilliant paintings and prints, her books and films. "Most of all we responded to Prince Edward Island," Erica Rutherford wrote in her autobiography, of a trip that included her first visit to the Island in 1970. "I felt home there for the first time since I had come to North America" . Erica Rutherford summered on the Island for many years, moving permanently "home" in 1985. Her work changed at this time, becoming "more decorative and richer in detail". Erica has made a huge contribution to the development of the arts on PEI. She was instrumental in the formation of the alternative Great George Street Gallery in Charlottetown, providing local artists with a venue to show their work and view the work of other non-mainstream Canadian artists. Throughout the 1990s, she organized printmaking workshops at her studio with nationally known artists, leading to the formation of the PEI Printmakers Council. In 1999, Erica Rutherford was admitted to the Royal Canadian Academy.1
The Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts is working to establish a memorial in Erica’s honour. More details will be available very shortly. As per the family’s wishes, donations may be made to the Council for this memorial as follows:
The Council can accept online donations via the Canada Helps website here:
(http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=d77694)
We can also receive cheques at our offices. Please note “Donation for Erica Rutherford Memorial” on the memo line of the cheque and send to:
PEI Council of the Arts / Erica Rutherford Memorial
115 Richmond Street
Charlottetown, PE C1A 1H7
For more information, please contact our Executive Director, Darrin White, at 902-368-6176, or email .
1From the Rutherford’s website: http://redoakarts.ca/roa_gallery/erica.html
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The Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts is pleased to announce the completion of the PEI Artists Directory, an online resource that will grow to become the premier starting point for people seeking information about Island Artists. Artists can complete their entire registration online at the web site, including uploading images to the site from their own computers. PEI Artists Directory
