Clarissa Archibald "Clara" Dennis (November 24, 1881 – February 16, 1958) was a Canadian photographer and writer who lived in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. She died in Halifax at the age of 76. Many of her photographs are now held in the collections of the Nova Scotia Archives and the

Nova Scotia Museum Nova Scotia Museum (NSM) is the corporate name for the 28 museums across Nova Scotia, Canada, and is part of the province's tourism infrastructure. The organization manages more than 200 historic buildings, living history sites, vessels, and speci ...

. These thousands of images capture the people and places of her time, including a collection of images of

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

people from that period.

Early life

The daughter of Senator

William Dennis William Dennis (4 March 1856 – 11 July 1920) was an Independent Conservative member of the Senate of Canada. He was born in the English county of Cornwall and became an editor, journalist and publisher. Biography Introduction William Dennis ...

and Agnes Miller, she was born in

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

and moved to Halifax with her family at a young age. She was educated at Mount Allison College,

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

and Halifax Business College. She worked for her father's newspaper, the ''

Halifax Herald ''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, owned by Postmedia Network. History Early years Founded in 1874 as ''The Morning Herald'', the paper quickly became one of Halifax's main newspapers. The same ...

'', until his death in 1920. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Dennis offered her home to thousands of soldiers and was a strong support of initiatives to support prisoners of war and foreign troops that were stationed or visiting Halifax. Dennis was a life member of the Nova Scotia Historical Society.

Works

Dennis published several travel books illustrated with her own photographs: * ''Down in Nova Scotia: My Own, My Native Land'' (1934) * ''More about Nova Scotia: My Own, My Native Land'' (1937) * ''Cape Breton Over'' (1942) Dennis wrote a number of travel articles for newspapers and magazines. She also provided the chapter on Nova Scotia for ''The Spirit of Canada'', a souvenir booklet produced for King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

and

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

on their 1939 Canadian tour.

Recognition

In 1938, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature by

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

References

External links

Clara Dennis Tours Nova Scotia (A collection of photographs taken by Clara Dennis in Nova Scotia, at the Nova Scotia Archives)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennis, Clara 1881 births 1958 deaths Canadian women photographers Canadian travel writers Canadian women journalists Journalists from Nova Scotia Mount Allison University alumni Dalhousie University alumni Canadian women non-fiction writers