Watercolour of Fred Amess and Mollie Lamb.
| BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS |
She studied at the Vancouver School of Arts from 1938 to 1942, including a year of graduate studies.
She enlisted in the CWACs in World War Two, and was an official Canadian War Artist from 1945.
In 1945 she met Bruno Bobak and became his wife. They settled in Vancouver after the war. She exhibited in the B.C. Artists exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery from 1940 to at least 1950. She was a Lieutenant in the C.W.A.C. during the war.
She exhibited in the Seattle Art Museum's annual Northwest Artists exhibitions in 1955 and 1959.
Her husband was head of the Design Department at the Vancouver School of Art from 1947 to 1957, while Molly taught painting at the school from 1947 - 1950. They later moved to New Brunswick. In 1993 a major retrospective exhibition of her work was produced by the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan. The exhibition toured across Canada, and an excellent large exhibition catalogue was produced.
Lamb died in 2014 at the age of 95.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
| DATE | EXHIBITION | LOCATION |
| 1942 Feb 17 - March 1 | Solo exhibition (13 drawings) | VAG |
| 1993-94 | A Retrospective | Traveling |
| DATE | EXHIBITION | ARTWORK |
| 1940 Sept. 20 - Oct. 13 | VAG B.C. Artists 9th Annual | Galiano Wharf |
| 1941 Sept. 26 - Oct. 19 | VAG B.C. Artists 10th Annual | Composition |
| Landscape | ||
| 1942 May 15 - 31 | BCSFA 32nd Annual | Main Street, Nanaimo |
| 1942 July 7 - Sept. 2 | VAG B.C. Artists 1st Annual Summer | Main Street, Nanaimo |
| 1944 Nov. 21 - Dec. 10 | Labour Arts Guild 1st B.C. At Work | Workers on Ferry |
| 1945 Sept. 22 - Oct. 21 | VAG B.C. Artists 14th Annual | Baker's Shop |
| Street Scene, Toronto | ||
| 1945 ? - ? | FCA B.C. Artists Selections from 14th Ann. | Street Scene, Toronto |
| 1949 July 12 - July 31 | VAG Stanley Park in Pictures | Skating at Lost Lagoon |
| Bowling | ||
| Picnic Group | ||
| 1949 Oct. 8 - 30 | VAG B.C. Artists 18th Annual | Mother and Child |
| Garden Party | ||
| 1950 Nov. 28 - Dec. 17 | VAG B.C. Artists 19th Annual | Asters |
| Event, Hornby Island | ||
| 1951 April 24 - May 13 | VAG BCSA 41st Annual | North Vancouver Ferry |
| Nanaimo, B.C. | ||
| 1952 April 1 - 20 | VAG BCSA 42nd Annual | Funeral Procession |
| A Buffalo, Paris | ||
| 1953 May 5 - 31 | VAG BCSA 43rd Annual | Still Life with Greek Cast |
| Geraniums | ||
| Rue de Seine, Paris | ||
| 1954 May 25 - June 13 | VAG BCSA 44th Annual | Composition of a Park |
| Winter Street | ||
| Chickens in the Snow | ||
| 1955 April 26 - May 15 | VAG BCSA 45th Annual | Portrait of Marion |
| Model in Romantic Setting | ||
| Formal Still Life | ||
| 1956 Feb. 28 - March 18 | VAG BCSA 46th Annual | Memory of the Marpole Line |
| Staten Island Ferry | ||
| Flowers | ||
| 1957 March 5 - 24 | VAG BCSA 47th Annual | New Housing Project |
| Victoria Subdivision | ||
| 1958 Feb. 4 - 22 | VAG BCSA 48th Annual | View From the Blue Heron |
See also Harold Mortimer-Lamb biography "The Art Lover" by Robert Amos (q.v.).
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM - NORTHWEST ARTISTS EXHIBITIONS 1914 - 1975
Refer to NWA BC artists by exhibition
Refer to NWAA BC artists alphabetically
3rd BC GRAPHIC & CANADIAN SOCIETY OF GRAPHIC ART (refer to BCG57)
100 YEARS OF B.C. ART (refer to VAG58)
B.C. PAINTINGS BURNABY 58 (refer to BAG58)
ARTE CANADIENSE (refer to NGC60)
BOUQUET - A Selection of Flower Paintings (refer to BAG65.2)
PRINTMAKING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 1889-1983 (refer to AGGV83)
VANCOUVER: ART & ARTISTS 1931 - 1983 (refer to VAG83)
BRITISH COLUMBIA WOMEN ARTISTS 1885-1985 (refer to AGGV85)
64 - 94 CONTEMPORARY DECADES (refer to ECU94)
GENERATIONS - FIVE DECADES OF ART IN WEST VANCOUVER 1912 - 1962 (refer to WVMA99)
A MODERN LIFE: Art and Design in British Columbia 1945-1960 (refer to VAG04)
THE ORNAMENT OF A HOUSE - FIFTY YEARS OF COLLECTING (refer to BAG17)
88 ARTISTS FROM 88 YEARS (refer to ECU17)
BRITISH COLUMBIA - A CENTENNIAL ANTHOLOGY (refer to BCCA58)
MACLEAN'S MAGAZINE - B.C. CENTENNIAL ISSUE (refer to MAC58)
CREATIVE CANADA - Volumes One & Two (refer to CC71)
Includes one column of information on Lamb.
FROM DESOLATION TO SPLENDOUR (refer to FDTS77)
CANADIAN ART PRINTS (refer to CAP79)
ROYAL CANADIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS - EXHIBITIONS & MEMBERS 1880 - 1979 (refer to RCA81)
ARTISTS IN CANADA 1982 - UNION LIST OF ARTISTS' FILES (refer to AIC82)
ART BANK CATALOGUE (refer to AB87)
MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS - SPRING EXHIBITIONS 1880 - 1970 (refer to MM88)
THE ALMA MATER SOCIETY ART COLLECTION - University of British Columbia
1948 - 1988
No ISBN, 64 pages, illustrated in colour and b&w
Includes history of the collection, artist biographies
A DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN ARTISTS (refer to M)
2 page biography with numerous references.
THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA (refer to CE00)
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (refer to EBC00)
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF ARTISTS IN CANADA (refer to BIAC03)
14 references cited for Bobak.
VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY - B.C. ARTISTS FILES (refer to VPL)
THE FECKLESS COLLECTION (refer to FECK18)
GREATER VANCOUVER ART GALLERIES 1954-2020 (refer to GVAG20)
3 references to Bobak.
"Molly-Ha-Ha the dapple-dark-loving dare-devil threw all
fear to the winds as she slept spook-surrounded on the sand-dunes. Kept warm by
generating her own heat until “the rains came” and our Molly retired to the play
room wicker basket under the Union Jack, to dream of the Norwegian King and Queen."
From "IN THE FIRING LINE – GIRL RISKS LIFE UNDER THE SHOOTING STARS"
Savary Pudding, June 7 1939
"Crime at Deadman's Gulch. Soft spoken Dick fooled, foiled,
and finished. Believed work of notorious Molly ha-ha
Gang. Reward."
From "FLASH"
Savary Pudding, June 8 1939
"Congratulating Vancouver School of Art for the excellence
of its work during the past session, under the tuition of Charles
H. Scott and staff, Col. F.T. Fairey, director of the technical education branch
of the Department of Education, distributed scholarships and diplomas to successful
students Friday afternoon. ... Merit Certificates - Molly Lamb.
... "
From "Diplomas Awarded to Art Students"
Vancouver Province, September 2 1939
"Molly Lamb in her colorful "Main Street, Nanaimo" takes
another stride forward as a promising young artist."
From "B.C. Society of Fine Arts
Display Sets New High Mark" by Palette
Vancouver Province, May 16 1942
"Paintings by well known artists include ... Molly Lamb ... "
From "Summer Show at Gallery Major Event
for Art Lovers" by Palette
Vancouver Province, July 7 1943
"Also notable are ... Molly Lamb's two lively compositions."
From "Graphic Arts and Sculpture Place in Gallery Exhibition" by
Palette
Vancouver Province, September 24 1945
"'Fame' for Rummy Players in Murals at Gordon House" by Mac Reynolds
Vancouver Sun March 21 1949
"Molly and Bruno Bobak" by Doris Shadbolt
Canadian Art magazine, 1952, Vol. 9 No. 3