Artist Erica Rutherford dies

Well-known P.E.I. artist Erica Rutherford, who gained worldwide fame as a painter and printmaker, died Friday.
Acclaimed as one of Canada's most accomplished artists, she had works in Canada Council's Art Bank, the Arts Council of Great Britain and many public collections across the United States, Canada, England and Spain.
In 1991, Rutherford held the first printmaker's workshop at her farmhouse in Pinette. She attracted the best artists in the country by offering them a week's holiday on P.E.I. In turn, they would agree to offer classes to student printmakers each day.
Soon, the best printmakers were beating down a path to Rutherford's door. The Printmakers Council of P.E.I. was thus born.
She was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1923 and lived in North America, Spain, South Africa and England before settling in Pinette.
She was the recipient of Father Adrien Arsenault Senior Arts Award (on P.E.I.) in 2001 and was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy in 1999.
She studied dramatic art at the Royal Academy, London University, and theatre design, drawing and sculpture at London University's Slade School of Fine Art. She also attended Julian's Academy in Paris and Academia Florence in Italy.
Her paintings have been exhibited widely throughout Europe and North America and form part of many corporate and public collections, notably the Arts Council of England, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Indianapolis Museum of Art and Museo d'Arte Contemporano in Madrid, Spain.
Rutherford later lived with her partner, Gail, and her youngest daughter, Susana, and family in Charlottetown.