Sophie Atkinson (28 November 1876 – 5 May 1972), born Sophia Mildred Atkinson, was an English
watercolour landscape painter and illustrator.
Biography
Atkinson was born at
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...
, England, on 28 November 1876. She was the daughter of the painter Matthew Hutton Atkinson and the granddaughter of the painters George Clayton Atkinson and William Adamson.
She received training in art at the Newcastle School of Art, at
Armstrong College, Newcastle, under R.G. Hatton and later at the
Sir Hubert von Herkomer School near London.
At the turn of the century Atkinson lived in
Corfu; the result was the book ''An Artist in Corfu'', published in 1911, which she wrote and illustrated with her own watercolours.
After the
Great War she travelled to India, and later also visited Denmark,
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
and the
Tyrol. After the death of the painter John Atkinson in 1924 she went to
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
and from there made her way to western Canada. Taking advantage of
Canadian Pacific’s free passes to artists and writers, she travelled from
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
through Canada to
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
,
Ottawa
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 ...
and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
.
Atkinson settled in
Revelstoke, British Columbia in 1949. She was an accomplished artist who painted
still lifes,
landscapes, and scenes of Indian villages, townscapes, and city scenes such as the Revelstoke railway yards. The Revelstoke Art Club was created by Atkinson in 1962. Her work received recognition at exhibitions in British Columbia, specifically at the
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (From March 31, 1949 to April 2, 1949), Montreal, Calgary and Revelstoke in Canada, and in London, England. She went back to Britain in about 1968, settling in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland, where she died on 5 May 1972.
References
External links
An artist in Corfu(Boston, Estes; London, Herbert & Daniel, 1911).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Sophie
1876 births
1972 deaths
20th-century English painters
20th-century English women artists
Artists from Newcastle upon Tyne
English women painters
English watercolourists
Landscape artists
People from Revelstoke, British Columbia
Women watercolorists