British Columbia Artist
c1921
The designation of British Columbia Artist, abbreviated as B.C.A., was an
attempt to establish a formal certification of West Coast artists,
regardless of whether they were members of the B.C. Society of
Fine Arts, the Studio Club, the Vancouver
Sketch Club, the Island Arts and Crafts Society, or any
other group of artists.
The exhibition catalogue for the 1921 B.C. Society of Fine Arts
Annual Exhibition is virtually the only time this designation was used - and
the majority of artists listed in the catalogue have the designation B.C.A.
The attempt seems to have been shortlived, since there was
no further use of the designation (that the editor is aware of).
A number of years later the Vancouver Art Gallery began a
series of annual exhibitions, open to the artists of the entire province of
British Columbia, known as the B.C. Artists Annual Exhibition.
The use of the name B.C. Artists for these exhibitions may well have inadvertently helped
people to forget the earlier designation.
References
Annual Exhibit of the British Columbia Society of Fine Arts
1921, September 19 - 24, exhibition catalogue
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