BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS  

Miss Unity Langford Bainbridge
(m Leslie William Brewster)

July 6 1916 - November 30 2017

Vancouver School of Art (Diploma 1936)


Unity Bainbridge was one of the students who attended the Vancouver School of Art in the 1930s. Her portrait was one of a number drawn by E.J. Hughes that was reproduced in the 1936 Graduation issue of Behind The Palette.


E.J. Hughes pencil portrait

In 1937 she exhibited portraits as part of a special exhibition of arts and crafts at the Hotel Vancouver, held in conjunction with the 5th Annual Folk Song and Dance Festival. In 1938 she had a painting titled "Ennui" in a Royal Canadian Academy exhibition.

She was on a list titled "Leading Vancouver Artists," provided to the Labour Arts Guild on April 10, 1946 by the Vancouver Art Gallery to assist in the Guild's call for entries to the second annual B.C. At Work exhibition.

Bainbridge married and had children, but kept drawing and painting. She loved travelling to the Seton Portage and Shalalth area of B.C., even writing, illustrating, and publishing books about the area, including "Songs of Seton", 1975-76, a limited edition printing of 1,000 signed copies.

In 2000 she took part in Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design's 75th Anniversary festivities, giving a speech at the presentation banquet at the Hotel Vancouver, and having some of her original student work shown in the adjunct archival exhibition "Years Ahead of its Time". She was also awarded with an Emily award, the first year that the school presented the awards.

According to Unity, in a telephone conversation with the Editor in February 2003, the address of "Sherman P.O., Vancouver" given on the VAG's list of artists should have actually read "West Vancouver", where the Sherman Post Office was at the Sherman whistle-stop on the P.G.E. Railway, and just up-hill from the now long-gone Sherman Cannery, which apparently had quite a noticeable aroma.

She showed work in a number of the Vancouver Art Gallery annual B.C. Artists' exhibitions, as listed below, and in the final 1968 exhibition.


SOLO EXHIBITIONS
DATE EXHIBITION LOCATION
1942 March 3 - 15 Oils, Watercolours, Drawings Vancouver Art Gallery
1943 Oct. 22 - Nov. 14 Solo Exhibition Vancouver Art Gallery
2017 Ot. 24 - Nov. 5 Beauty is all there is Ferry Building Gallery, WV

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
DATE EXHIBITION ARTWORK
1936 Aug. 18 - 28 David Spencer B.C. Artists' Golden Jubilee "two particularly fine portraits in oil"
1937 Sept. 17 - Oct. 10 VAG   B.C. Artists 6th Annual Ennui
Alice
1938 Sept. 16 - Oct. 9 VAG   B.C. Artists 7th Annual Little Boy
Spring Alders
1940 Sept. 20 - Oct. 13 VAG   B.C. Artists 9th Annual Virginia Williams (Squamish Indian)
Janitor
Hot Weather Child
Mr. McPhail
Dutch Artist
German Child
Finnish Girl
1942 Sept. 25 - Oct. 18 VAG   B.C. Artists 11th Annual Pioneer Church
Mrs. Michael Coleman
Mrs. Michael Coleman
1943 Sept. 25 - Oct. 20 VAG   B.C. Artists 12th Annual Catholic Church
Student Nurse
1944 Sept. 23 - Oct. 22 VAG   B.C. Artists 13th Annual Miss Diamand
Little Indian Patient
Boy's Head
1945 May 18 - June 10 BCSFA   35th Annual Northern Lake
1945 July 3 - Aug. 26 VAG   B.C. Artists 4th Annual Summer Northern Lake
1945 Sept. 22 - Oct. 21 VAG   B.C. Artists 14th Annual Sailor
1946 July 2 - 28 VAG   Jubilee Exhibition The Road
2000 E.C.I.A.D.   Years Ahead of its Time Design class exercises

References - BIBLIOGRAPHY

Refer to BIBLIO.

References - GROUP EXHIBITIONS

VANCOUVER FOLK SONG & DANCE FESTIVAL (refer to VFSD37)

3rd BC GRAPHIC & CANADIAN SOCIETY OF GRAPHIC ART (refer to BCG57)

SEYMOUR ART GALLERY - A NORTH SHORE BEGINNING (refer to SEY90)

EARLY BRITISH COLUMBIAN WOMAN ARTISTS (refer to HG95)

GENERATIONS - FIVE DECADES OF ART IN WEST VANCOUVER 1912 - 1962 (refer to WVMA99)

References - GENERAL

VISUAL ARTS BRITISH COLUMBIA (refer to VABC77)

ROYAL CANADIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS - EXHIBITIONS & MEMBERS 1880 - 1979 (refer to RCA81)

ARTISTS IN CANADA 1982 - UNION LIST OF ARTISTS' FILES (refer to AIC82)

VANCOUVER ARTIST: Unity Bainbridge
      1996 January; by Michael Clark, Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design.
      Visions newsletter, Volume 2 Issue 2, page 7.
      One page biography with 2 illustrations of her work.

VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY - B.C. ARTISTS FILES (refer to VPL)

VANCOUVER SCHOOL OF ART - LIST OF GRADUATES & STUDENTS (refer to VSA)

GREATER VANCOUVER ART GALLERIES 1954-2020 (refer to GVAG20)
     1 reference to Bainbridge.

Clippings

"Unity Bainbridge is showing two particularly fine portraits in oils, one of which a study of a sailor, caused much comment among those who have had a preview of the exhibition."
      From "400 B.C. Pictures in Jubilee Art Show"
      Vancouver Sun, August 15 1936

"Interesting aspects of B.C. scenery are also shown by ... Unity Bainbridge ... "
      From "Colorful Display Presented In Exhibition By B.C. Artists" by Palette
      Vancouver Province, September 19 1942

"Unity Bainbridge's paintings of Mrs. Michael Coleman have a satisfying completeness of statement. There is little or no interplay of rhythm or tension between organic form and structural design, but they have a natural strength of color and handling that is pleasing."
      From "Speaking of Art" by Browni Wingate
      News Herald, September 28 1942

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