Marilyn Jones | Emily Carr Chronicler

Emily Carr, Group of Seven, & the Search for a Canadian Art Identity

Published: 28 April, 2026
Written by Marilyn Jones

Emily Carr’s relationship with Lawren Harris and the Group of Seven is one of the most compelling artistic connections in Canadian cultural history—marked by admiration, encouragement, distance, and ultimately, a shared vision of a distinctly Canadian art. When Emily Carr returned to painting after meeting the Group of Seven in 1927 after years of financial struggle and creative uncertainty, she could not have anticipated the profound impact that a group of Toronto-based…

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How Bishop Edward and Mary Cridge Shaped the Young Emily Carr

Published: 23 April, 2026
Written by Marilyn Jones

The life of Emily Carr is often told through her artistic journeys into the forests and villages of the Pacific Northwest, yet some of her most formative influences were rooted much closer to home—in the intimate, everyday world of childhood neighbours. Among the most significant of these were Edward Cridge and his wife Mary, whose property they called, Marifield, abutted the Carr family’s property. This proximity fostered not only acquaintance but companionship,…

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Emily Carr and Nellie McClung: Two Pioneering Women of Victoria

Published: 28 March, 2026
Written by Marilyn Jones

In the early decades of the 20th century, Victoria was home to two extraordinary women whose lives and work would leave enduring marks on Canadian society: Emily Carr (1871–1945), the pioneering painter and writer, and Nellie McClung (1873–1951), the social reformer, suffragist, and politician. Though they shared a city and era, their paths, ambitions, and legacies were strikingly different, reflecting the multiple ways women of their generation could influence the world.  Read more:…

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