Nita Forrest
1926 in Quesnel, BC – resides in Victoria
Nita Forrest moved to Victoria in 1950. She was largely a self-taught artist although she studied with Herbert Siebner, and she acknowledged theinfluence and support of Richard Ciccimarra and Maxwell Bates. From 1968-1972 she was the founder and director of the Print Gallery inVictoria, which served as a vehicle for contemporary artists including Jack Shadbolt, Tony Onley, Michael Morris, Donald Harvey, and many other Victoria artists. Nita Forrest was one of the original members of The Limners group. In 1981 her work was selected to represent Victoria in an exhibition which toured China, and in 1983 she was named an Honorary Citizen of Victoria.
From: http://www.maltwood.uvic.ca/iMIS/index.php?artist_id=323&artist_action=info
http://www.gallerieswest.ca/Departments/ExhibitionReviews/6-106727.html
http://collection.aggv.bc.ca/explore/13914

Sister Mary (Labossiere) Osithe
Born in Montreal, Quebec - 1941 in Victoria BC
A woman of many talents, Sister Osithe practised painting (both on canvas and china), drawing and, perhaps most notably, architecture. Brought to Victoria from Montreal in 1897 to teach art at St. Ann's Academy where she remained for 40 years, she was an enthusiastic and much beloved teacher, keeping the art studio open all day long to encourage her students to feel at ease. Her own works, religious in subject matter, graced the walls of the Academy and included versions of "Crib" and "The Immaculate Conception" both based on works by Baroque artist Bartolomez Esteban Murillo. In 1903, Osithe returned to Montreal to continue her artistic training at the Mother House in Lachine. When she returned to Victoria, she participated in the Academy's Annual Exhibitions and attracted a certain amount of publicity for her works. Soon, she was teaching art classes to fashionable ladies of Victoria society, thus generating income for the Academy and nurturing interest in art. Her architectural projects included a gymnasium of the Academy (1921) and a new wing for Little Flower Academy (in Vancouver). She also contributed to designs for other schools and hospitals under the Sisters of St. Ann in British Columbia. When the Academy closed in 1973, Osithe's paintings were moved to other locations; some can be found at the St. Ann's Residence.
From: Canadian Women Artists: Artist Database
http://cwahi.concordia.ca/sources/artists/displayArtist.php?ID_artist=151

Elza Mayhew   RCA
1916 in Victoria - 2004 in Victoria BC
One of Canada's most famous sculptors, Elza Mayhew studied Classics at UBC and got her Masters of Fine Arts in sculpture at the University of Oregon. Mayhew & Harold Town represented Canada at the Venice Biennale of 1964. Two of her sculptures are prominent on the UVic campus: “Bronze Priestess” and “Coast Spirit". Her “Column of Sea” was exhibited in 1974 at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown.  Mayhew was well-travelled and exhibited throughout Canada and abroad. She was commissioned to do a sculpture for Expo 67 in Montreal. Awards: l989 - Honorary Doctorate, University of Victoria, l967 - Purchase Award, B.C. Centennial Sculpture Exhibition, and in l962 - Sir Otto Beit Medal from the Royal Society of British Sculptors. Memberships: l983-85 - Acquisitions Committee, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, l974-76 - Consultant, B.C. Committee on Art, l968-79 - Board of Directors, International Sculpture, Kansas, and in l974 - Elected to the Royal Canadian Academy.
http://www.maltwood.uvic.ca/iMIS/index.php?artist_id=343&artist_action=info
http://www.artistsincanada.com/php/article.php?id=395
http://web.uvic.ca/torch/torch2004s/feature_maythew.htm