Submitted by the staff of the Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH)
Bettina Harvie (1892-1971) was born in Hendon, England, and received her arts education there, including at the Kent School of Art, before coming to Canada to marry, at the age of 26.
OMAH’s records for this portrait indicate this painting has been attributed to Augustus John (1878-1961), a well-known Welsh artist who painted portraits of notable people such as writers George Bernard Shaw, Dylan Thomas and American actress Tallulah Bankhead. Harvie was his student.
If this portrait is by John, it would have been painted prior to Harvie’s travels, making her in her early 20s. Sadly, when it was donated to us in 2005 by her son, Peter Harvie, this painting was determined to be quite fragile and in poor condition.
This could potentially be explained by it being unstretched from the wooden frame prior to her journey, rolled, and stored in her luggage and subsequent home in the Orillia area. With such lengths taken to move with this painting, it could also indicate it was of great value to her.
Upon her arrival to Canada in 1918, she married James Gray Harvie (1890-1966), a young navigator/observer with the Royal Naval Air Corps. After living in Alberta for a time, the couple settled in Coldwater and, later, in Oro-Medonte.
After her marriage, she continued to create artwork. She painted not only portraits but also still lifes and landscapes while experimenting with both realism and abstraction. OMAH has several of her works in our collection.
She was active in the arts community, becoming a member of the Orillia Arts and Letters Club, teaching at the Ovenden School for Girls in Barrie and also privately to adults and children, and travelling to Toronto weekly to attend The Artist’s Workshop in order to draw from life models. She had only one exhibition, at the Barrie Public Library, in November 1965.
Next week, we will feature another object from the OMAH collection that showcases our local history.
