Watershed Magazine has partnered with two of our region’s most valuable cultural assets – The John M. Parrott Gallery in Belleville and the Art Gallery of Northumberland (AGN) in Cobourg – to highlight select works from their permanent collections.
BORN AND RAISED IN BELLEVILLE, AILEEN CHERRY INITIALLY STUDIED FINE ART through correspondence courses sponsored by the Minneapolis School of Art. She went on to graduate from the Ontario College of Art where she studied under Arthur Lismer.
Despite travelling and painting throughout Europe and the United States, Aileen Cherry preferred painting in the Quinte area she called home, and despite showing her work across Canada and in New York, London and Paris, she painted solely for her own enjoyment.
As a curator, I am struck by the fact that Aileen Cherry never sold any of her works while she was alive. Twenty years after her death in 1958, a treasure trove of her paintings was discovered in a barn north of Belleville. The Parrott Gallery is fortunate to hold five of her luscious oils in its collection. The soft palette of blues, greens and greys in this untitled piece evoke all the emotions of a sultry summer day. Susan Holland, Curator, John M. Parrott Gallery, Belleville.
Story by:
Susan Holland
