Artist Information
Artist
Josephine Crease (1864-1947)Role
ArtistDate made
n.d.Time Period
19th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in New Westminster, B.C., Josephine (Zeffie) Crease was an accomplished amateur Canadian artist working mainly in watercolour, known for her scenes of Victoria and environs. She was an active and influential member of Victoria's early art and cultural community, settling in the city with her family in 1869. She was the youngest daughter of Lady Sarah Crease, the daughter of the famous botanist, John Lindley, a talented scientific illustrator and artist in her own right. Her father, Sir Henry Pering Pellew Crease, an influential British-Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, was the first Attorney General of the united Colony of B.C. and he sat on the Supreme Court of B.C. for 26 years.
Crease inherited her love of art and a proficiency in both sketching and watercolour painting from her mother. She studied art at Victoria’s Angela College, with artist Georgiana de L'Aubiniere (1848-1930) and together with her sister, Susan, she studied art at King’s College, London and in Paris in the 1880s and 90s. She later took lessons from artists Samuel Maclure (1860-1929) and Sophie Pemberton RCA (1869-1959) in Victoria, and others such as Ellen Chaffrey (Chislett) Richards (1829-1900), wife of Albert Norton Richards, QC who served as the second Lieutenant Governor of B.C.
Crease was considered a fine watercolourist in the tradition of British watercolour art, painting many Island landscapes and also interior scenes such as Government House in Victoria. From 1900 to 1909, Crease and artist Margeret Kitto (1871-1925) organized sketching expeditions in Victoria and also explored various areas of Vancouver Island searching for new sources of inspiration.
Well-connected and a close friend of many of Victoria's upper-class women artists, Crease was a founding member of the Island Arts and Crafts Society (IACS) and exhibited her work in their annual shows for over 20 years, 1919-1941. Of note, her family home “Pentrelew” on Fort Street in Victoria was a frequent meeting place for artists and Crease reportedly offered to donate "Pentrelew" as a location for a new public gallery in the city. Her mother, her brother Lindley and sister Susan were also IACS members, and Crease herself was a particularly active and devoted member, serving on its executive and other committees and as honourary president. She showed her work with the B.C. Society of Fine Arts and in the B.C. Artist annual exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery from 1934 to 1940. Other associations included the Sketching Club (1900-09; president in 1903), the Drawing and Library Club (1902), the Women's Canadian Club and the Alexandra Club (treasurer 1898).
Crease was considered to have had a deep and lasting influence on the Victoria arts community and helped to lay the foundation for later art institutions such as the public art gallery in Victoria established in 1951. Her work can be found in the collections of the Royal B.C. Museum and Archives and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, as well as private collections.
Of note, in 1952, the IACS was renamed The Sketch Club and later became the Victoria Sketch Club. It is the oldest Canadian art group west of Ontario and it continues to hold exhibitions of members' work.
