NEWS RELEASE
OMAH HISTORY COMMITTEE
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The Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH) History Speaker Series will celebrate International Women’s Day this year by honouring Orillia-born sculptor and art educator Elizabeth Wyn Wood (1903-1966).
Wood became a nationally renowned professional sculptor at a time when it was not easy for a woman to have a full-time career. In 1966, the year of her death, she was inducted into the Orillia Hall of Fame.
Join us via Zoom at 7 p.m. on March 15 to hear her granddaughter, Sylvie Browne, present her talk Canadian Shield Explorer – The Art and Life of Elizabeth Wyn Wood. Sylvie Browne, archaeologist and mapping technologist, is one of the daughters of long-time OMAH members, the late Qennefer and Bob Browne.
Sylvie will tell the story of her connection with her grandmother, Qennefer’s mother, and how her grandmother’s upbringing in Orillia and her exploration of the Canadian Shield informed her art and life. She will also talk about two of Wood’s works recently acquired by OMAH for its permanent collection.
We are also blessed to have several of Wood’s amazing sculptures on display in our city. Her busts of important Orillia figures Stephen Leacock and C. H. Hale can be seen at the Orillia Public Library. Her sculpture Leaping Deer is an installation at Victoria Park.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about sculptor Elizabeth Wyn Wood, an important part of Orillia’s cultural heritage.
To receive a link to the talk or any of the talks click here or call Monica at 705-326-2159.
Admission is free, donations to OMAH are appreciated.
Next up, on April 19, OMAH hosts Judy Humphries, head of the Gravenhurst archives, as guest speaker. She will deliver her talk The Ontario Fire College Then and Now – It Was All About Saving Lives.
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