Although she was a nationally and internationally known artist, Freda Pemberton Smith often chose as her subjects, the places and people of her adopted hometown, Vankleek Hill. Many of the more than 40 of her works to be sold on Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5 at the Knox Presbyterian Church Hall on Hamil Street feature local Vankleek Hill houses, horses, street scenes and this portrait of two young girls.
Proceeds from the sale will go to the local refugee program, Opportunity Knox. The artworks have been generously donated by Helen Macleod of L’Orignal who bought them when, as a realtor, she was negotiating a real estate transaction. Pemberton Smith’s artwork has sold to collectors for hundreds, even thousands of dollars. But these watercolours and pastel paintings will be offered unframed for under $100.
Born in Montréal in 1902, Freda Pemberton Smith studied at the Barnes School of Art and École des Beaux-Arts in Montréal and at the Slade School of Art In London England. She painted for more than 60 years and exhibited across Canada, from B.C. to Newfoundland-Labrador. Her work is found in numerous collections, including the Edmonton Art Gallery and the Royal Drawing Society in London. She moved to Vankleek Hill in the 1960s but travelled extensively to paint on location. She died in 1991.
The sale will be held from 3 pm to 7 pm on Friday, October 4 and 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, October 5, on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Sale proceeds will support Opportunity Knox’s refugee program, whose latest refugees, the Syrian Khalil family, arrived from Iraq in June.
For further information, please contact:
Bonnie Laing
(613) 678-5307
