Nesta Bowen Horne

Nesta Bowen Horne
Nesta Bowen Horne in 1948
Born
Nesta Maud Mary Bowen

(1896-02-09)9 February 1896
Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados
Died2 March 1987(1987-03-02) (aged 91)
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Known forPainting

Nesta Bowen Horne (1896–1987) was a Canadian painter. Born in Barbados, she trained in New York, Paris, and London. While she painted landscapes, floral subjects, and semi-abstracts, her specialty was portraiture. She had solo exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1944 and 1946, the latter show devoted exclusively to portraits.

Biography

Nesta Maud Mary Bowen was born on 9 February 1896 in Bridgetown, Barbados,[1] the daughter of a civil engineer and artist.[2] She lived in New York for ten years where she attended the National Academy of Design. Horne further studied in Paris at the Académie Moderne under Charles Guérin. In London, she continued her education in portrait painting at the Goldsmith School with Harold Speed.[3][4] In 1925, she married Thomas Horne in England.[4] She immigrated to Canada in 1929, settling in Vancouver.[3]

Starting in 1934, Horne sent works to the annual shows of the Vancouver Art Gallery.[3] In 1940, she had a co-exhibition with Mabel Bain at the gallery, displaying portraits, landscapes, and floral subjects, which were particularly praised.[5] Her scenes included a Japanese village along the Fraser River and Chinese market gardens.[6] In 1941, Horne painted Mary Bollert, the first dean of women at the University of British Columbia.[7] She began submitting pieces to the annual exhibitions with the British Columbia Society of Fine Arts.[3] Horne portrayed Mary Laura Mah (Wong), who served with the Canadian Women's Army Corps. The pastel is now located in the Canadian War Museum.[8]

In 1944, she had her first solo exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery, with oil paintings and watercolours of both still lifes and portraits.[9] Horne also created semi-abstracts.[2] In 1944 as well, she visited Victoria where she depicted men and women in uniform.[10] An exhibition of many of these paintings occurred in 1945 at the Spencer's Art Gallery in Victoria.[11] In 1946, Horne had another solo exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery, a rare show consisting only of portraits. Mildred Valley Thornton commended her paintings of children.[12] In 1950, Horne was made a member of the National Arts Club in New York.[13] By 1955, she lived most of the year at Pender Harbour.[14] Horne continued painting into the 1960s.[15] She died on 2 March 1987 in Victoria at the age of 91 years.[3]

Besides British Columbia, Horne exibited in London, New York,[4] Toronto, St. Catharines, and Washington, D.C.[2] Her works are in the collections of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery,[16] Burnaby Art Gallery,[17] Canadian War Museum,[8] and the Barbados Museum & Historical Society.[18][19]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Barbados, Church Records, 1637-1930: Nesta Maud Mary Bowen". Family Search. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Macdonald, Colin S. (1979). Dictionary of Canadian Artists. Vol. II. Ottawa: Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd. p. 470. Retrieved 14 May 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Sim, Gary. "Nesta Bowen Horne (Mrs.)". Sim Publishing: British Columbia Artists. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Beattie, Todd. "She Paints Portraits 'Easily as Breathing'". Retrieved 14 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Thornton, Mildred Valley (16 October 1940). "B.C. Artists Display Fine Talents in Gallery Exhibits". The Vancouver Sun. p. 16. Retrieved 14 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Works of Four B.C. Artists on Display at Art Gallery". The Province. Vancouver. 16 October 1940. p. 8. Retrieved 15 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Portrait of First Dean of Women Painted for U.B.C." The Vancouver Sun. 22 November 1941. p. 14. Retrieved 14 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 Barker, Stacey (8 November 2024). "Outside the Line: Women Artists and War" (PDF). Art Canada Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 August 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Thornton, Mildred Valley (21 April 1944). "Girl Artist in One-Man-Show at Gallery". The Vancouver Sun. p. 15. Retrieved 14 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Visiting Artist Paints Servicemen". Victoria Times Colonist. 21 October 1944. p. 16. Retrieved 14 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Oils on Display; Red Cross Benefits". Victoria Times Colonist. 24 April 1945. p. 14. Retrieved 14 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Thornton, Mildred Valley (29 November 1946). "Nesta Horne Portraits at Gallery". The Vancouver Sun. p. 5. Retrieved 14 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Thornton, Mildred Valley (27 November 1950). "Small Arts Groups Expanding". The Vancouver Sun. p. 7. Retrieved 14 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Talented Artist". The Province. Vancouver. 28 October 1955. p. 35. Retrieved 14 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Scan City Artist's Display to Start Your Own Gallery". The Hamilton Spectator. 10 July 1964. p. 29. Retrieved 15 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Online Collections". Belkin Art Gallery Collections. Archived from the original on 20 August 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Horne, Nesta Bowen". Burnaby Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 14 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  18. ↑ Smythe-Johnson, Nicole. "On Duppies and the Archive: Three Weeks in Barbados". Titling Axis. Archived from the original on 14 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "Annual Report 1989–1990" (PDF). Barbados Museum and Historical Society. p. 20. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
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