It seemed fitting to end my journey to British Columbia visiting the house where Emily Carr grew up; to knock on the front door and be greeted by Jan Ross, curator of this National and Provincial Historic Site; to sit in the very parlor where Emily once sat; and learn more about this visionary whose art and life I so admired.
On the morning of our third full day in British Columbia, my husband Ralph and I departed for Victoria, the place of Emily Carr’s birth in 1871 and the city where she spent most of her life.
In the weeks before traveling to British Columbia to see two major exhibitions of paintings by Emily Carr—one of Canada’s most celebrated and fascinating artists—I read and researched everything I could about her.
The decision to travel to British Columbia this past November was an impulsive one, uncharacteristic of my ‘long-range planning’ approach to life acquired during my career as a public school administrator. My invitation to do so appeared on the front page of the New York Times Travel Section on October 2, 2017, with the headline: “Vancouver Island, Through an Artist’s Eyes.”