Alberta Gold, date unknown
Oil on woodAnnora Brown
Born Red Deer, Alberta, 1899Died Deep Cove, British Columbia, 1987University of Alberta Museums Art CollectionUniversity of Alberta MuseumsThe Emma Read Newton Collection1950.3
As the daughter of a North West Mounted Police officer and regional school teacher, Annora Brown grew up in the settlement of Fort McLeod in southwest Alberta during the early twentieth century. She later attended the Ontario School of Art (OCAD University) and was taught by Group of Seven members Arthur Lismer and J.E.H. MacDonald.
Upon graduation, Brown returned to Alberta and began an extensive career of depicting the landscape of the province. The painting Alberta Gold portrays the vast farmlands of southern Alberta and one of its most valuable crops, canola.
This work is part of the Emma Read Newton Collection, which was donated by the wife of former University of Alberta president Robert Newton. An active member of the campus community from the 1920s until the 1950s, Emma Read Newton was an accomplished musician who donated a number of significant works of art to the University of Alberta.