The Women of Beaver Hall: Canadian Modernist Painters

The Women of Beaver Hall: Canadian Modernist Painters... is a handsome book in the finest coffee-table tradition, its pages thick and glossy, its more than 65 plates in full colour. But it's much more than that, too.

Striding far beyond the narrow borders usually associated with coffee tables, The Women of Beaver Hall is at once exposition, homage and feminist celebration of 10 remarkable artists. Janice Kennedy, Ottawa Citizen, January 24, 2006

Ten Canadian women, counterparts of the Group of Seven, are finally being given their due. Long overlooked by critics and historians, their works are today among the most sought-after Canadian paintings. The Beaver Hall women ventured into a male-dominated art world, lived remarkable lives and produced exceptional work. Engaging and beautifully designed, The Women of Beaver Hall portrays the lives and works of Nora Collyer, Emily Coonan, Prudence Heward, Mabel Lockerby, Henrietta Mabel May, Kathleen Moir Morris, Lilias Torrance Newton, Sarah Robertson, Anne Savage and Ethel Seath. With its clear, concise style and more than 65 colour plates, this important reference book is a work of art in itself. The Record, February 11th 2006

"…rich in works seldom seen…"

"rich in works seldom seen" Telegraph Journal (Saint John, NB)

"With more than 65 colour plates, this book illustrates the exceptional work of the Beaver Hall women, while author Evelyn Waters has trawled archives, old catalogues and newspapers to document their distinctive lives. Only one of the 10 wed--either career or marriage, not both, was the hard choice of the day for women--but they left a legacy that for art aficionados, and perhaps one day for the public at large, rivals the Group of Seven." The Beaver (now Canada's History) April - May 2006

In this beautifully produced book, the women painters of Beaver Hall are finally being given their due.

Ten women artists, counterparts of the Group of Seven, are finally being given their due. Long overlooked by critics and historians, they are today amongst the most sought-after Canadian painters. The Beaver Hall Group ventured into a male-dominated art world, lived remarkable lives, and produced exceptional work.

This beautifully produced book portrays the life and work of Emily Coonan, Nora Collyer, Prudence Heward, Mabel Lockerby, Mabel May, Sarah Robertson, Anne Savage, and Ethel Seath. Long-lost catalogues, old newspaper reviews, and personal papers document their story, and more than 60 reproductions bring to light paintings that have lain hidden for more than fifty years.

Evelyn Walters' expertise on the Beaver Hall Group is an outgrowth of her 1990 doctoral thesis and of research for a personal art collection. After teaching in France and then Montreal, she recently moved to Toronto, where she has spent the past few years exploring the Toronto art scene.