Sophie Pemberton

Who was Sophie Pemberton?

Sophia Theresa "Sophie" Pemberton was a Canadian painter. Despite the social limitations placed on female artists at the time, she made a noteworthy contribution to Canadian art and was the first woman to win the Prix Julian, in 1899.

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Sophie, as she was known throughout her life, was the daughter of Teresa Jane Grautoff and Joseph Despard Pemberton. A successful executive with the Hudson's Bay Company and the first Surveyor-General of Vancouver Island, her father could afford to send her to live and study in Paris at the Académie Julian.

Pemberton painted at a time when her chosen media had been the exclusive domain of men and her European influences can be seen in her work. The painter of both portraits and landscapes, Pemberton was the first artist from the province of British Columbia to receive international acclaim when her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, including her award-winning 1897 work seen here, entitled Little Boy Blue.

In 1905, she married Canon Arthur Beanlands, an Anglican priest, a widower. He died in 1917 and in 1920 she married Horace Deane-Drummond, who was older than her and indeed had children almost her age.