| BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS |
In April 1947 the West Vancouver Community Art Club held an exhibition of art, consisting only of artwork done by North and West Shore artists. This exhibition appears to have been considered the first exhibition of the West Vancouver Sketch Club.
The West Vancouver Sketch Club was founded in 1947, and became a popular and long-lived amateur artist organization. The attached list of members was compiled in 1977, and shows the extent of membership over the years. The club also founded an additional group c1948 known as "Group Two" that was comprised of a second round of members who joined the group after its formation.
The group gave regular exhibitions in West Vancouver, and published a small number of exhibition catalogues. Their first exhibition in 1947 was juried by Lionel Thomas, Gordon Appelbe Smith and Illingworth Kerr. Opening remarks included a speech by Ira Dilworth. The group also had exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Professional artists were asked to lecture to the group over the years, including W.P. Weston and Gerald Tyler. In 1948 they sponsored Gordon Smith to give art classes at the local high school.
Frederick Oxenham is noted as a member in the 1948 newspaper clipping referenced below, but is not on the list of members.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
| DATE | EXHIBITION | LOCATION |
| 1947 Aril 12 - 13 | Exhibit of Fine Arts | (West Vancouver) |
| 1948 June 1 - 13 | Group Show | VAG |
| 1949 Sept. 13 - Oct. 2 | Group Show | VAG |
| 1958 Feb. 11 - Mar. 2 | Group Show | VAG |
"Painter's Colic" by E.L.
The Lions Gate Times, March 11 1948
"A month later we put on our show and it made West Vancouver history. Instead of the
shop window we'd originally planned on, we used the entire Community Centre building
for two days and nearly a thousand people attended. The Reeve oficially opened the
show, followed by speeches from Mr. Ira Dilworth and
Mr. W.P. Weston, thus making it one of the outstanding
social, as well as cultural, events of the year. Over two hundred entries had been
received, which were narrowed down to eighty-nine by the jury,
(Lionel Thomas, Gordon Appelbe Smith,
and Illingworth Kerr) plus an imposing display of pottery,
clay models, wood carving and other handicrafts. ... "
From "Letter re West Vancouver Sketch Club"
Personal correspondence, March 15 1948