Janet Mitchell

Janet Mitchell was a distinguished Canadian modernist painter whose vibrant watercolors and oils captured the essence of Alberta with both realism and whimsical fantasy. Born in Medicine Hat, Alberta in 1912, Mitchell overcame significant early hardships, including being orphaned as a child and forced to leave home at age 14 to support herself as a chambermaid while continuing her education. Despite these challenges, she persevered in pursuing her artistic passion, initially balancing a 22-year career at the Calgary Income Tax Department with her developing artistic practice until she finally committed to full-time artistry at age 50 in 1962.

Mitchell's artistic vision was uniquely her own, influenced by European modernists Paul Klee and Marc Chagall, as well as Canadian artists David Milne and Jock Macdonald. Her work featured both highly realistic Western Canadian landscapes and dreamlike, fantastical scenes with vibrant colors and floating figures. Rather than depicting pristine urban scenes, Mitchell was drawn to alleyways and vacant lots, believing they revealed "the truth of things." This distinctive approach earned her significant recognition, including being the first Western Canadian artist chosen by the Save the Children Fund for their Christmas cards in 1965 and one of only fifteen Canadian artists commissioned to create paintings for Expo 67. Her watercolor "Across the Tracks to Shop" was featured on a Canada Post stamp commemorating Canada's 125th anniversary in 1992.

As a female artist in mid-20th century Canada, Mitchell's achievements were particularly remarkable. She was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1979, received the A.J. Casson Award from the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, and was honored with an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary in 1988. The Glenbow Museum mounted a retrospective of her work in 1977, cementing her legacy as an important figure in Canadian modernism. Today, her works are held in numerous prestigious collections across Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada, continuing to inspire with their technical skill, emotional depth, and unique vision that broke new ground for women in Canadian art.