Barbara A. Paterson is a Canadian artist, primarily known for her bronze figurative works, specializing in a variety of

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

media including wax, stone, bronze and welded steel. She is based in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and is best known for her public sculptures of the " Famous Five."

Biography

Paterson was born and raised in Edmonton and is the great-granddaughter of physician, William MacKay. Paterson started studying

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

s in the 1960s at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

(U of A), but did not complete her degree. Instead, she met her husband at the university, got married and then worked as a

stay-at-home mom A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying ...

. Later, she went back to U of A and earned her bachelor of fine arts in 1988. Paterson sculpted numerous public commissions, including Lois Hole "A Legacy of Love and Learning", and the "Famous Five" monuments in Calgary, Alberta's Olympic Square and on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

in Ottawa, Ontario. A detail image from the "Famous Five" monuments was featured on a Canada Post stamp in October 1999, and was pictured on the Canadian $50.00 bill. An image of part of the statue can now be seen on the inner pages of the Canadian passport. For the "Famous Five" sculpture, which is titled the ''Women are Persons! Monument'', she first created model sculptures that were later scaled up into life-sized bronze. The sculpture includes an empty chair which the artist added in order to make the sculpture more interactive. In 2000, Paterson was honored by U of A with a Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2021, Paterson was named to the Order of Canada for extraordinary contributions.

Works

File:Emilymurphy.jpg, Barbara Paterson's statue of

Emily Murphy Emily Murphy (born Emily Gowan Ferguson; 14 March 186827 October 1933) was a Canadian women's rights activist and author. In 1916, she became the first female magistrate in Canada and in the British Empire. She is best known for her contributio ...

in the Famous five,

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

File:Famous Five-Headline.jpg, Barbara Paterson's statue of

Nellie McClung Nellie Letitia McClung (; 20 October 18731 September 1951) was a Canadian author, politician, and social activist, who is regarded as one of Canada's most prominent suffragists. She began her career in writing with the 1908 book ''Sowing Seeds ...

in the Famous five, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario

References

External links

Featured Artist interview
Canadian sculptors Artists from Edmonton Living people Canadian women artists University of Alberta alumni Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 1935 births {{Canada-sculptor-stub