A new exhibit at the Museum of Northern B.C. in Prince Rupert offers a compelling view into the life and artistry of Gitxsan artist Elizabeth Linda Lowrie (1907-1986).
“From Usk to Dorreen and Everywhere In Between,” curated by her granddaughter, Edōsdi (Dr. Judy Thompson), reveals not only Lowrie’s powerful paintings but also the complex story of her mixed Gitxsan and settler heritage.
Edōsdi, a member of the Tahltan Nation, was born and raised in Prince Rupert and now teaches Indigenous Education at the University of Victoria. The exhibit spans a period of immense social, political, and cultural change in the northwest B.C.
Ancestry
“Elizabeth Linda Lowrie was born into two worlds,” says Edōsdi, describing her grandmother’s complex identity shaped by her Gitxsan mother and Scottish-Irish father. Elizabeth’s maternal grandparents in Gitsegukla were the last to experience life untouched by colonialism, with her grandmother, Hannah Brown, being a matriarch in the community.
The arrival of European settlers significantly impacted Lowrie's mother, Ksim Hloks. Subsequently, Lowrie also had children with settlers who had moved to Canada in search of a better future.
“Colonial policies allowed the Canadian government to steal land from her maternal family and offer that land up to her settler relations,” Edōsdi said.
These included the Dominion Lands Act, which promoted free land to migrants from Scotland and Ireland, who moved to Canada because of events such as the Highland clearances, which saw many tenants evicted from land in Scotlan, and the Irish potato famine. From the early 1870s to 1930, approximately 625,000 land grants were issued to homesteaders. Such broader colonial processes framed much of Lowrie's life.
Lowrie’s Life
Lowrie was a speaker of Gitxsanimaax, born in Usk in northwest B.C. Her father moved there for the gold rush and preempted land, a 19th century method for homesteaders to acquire agricultural property. She spent most of her life along the Xsi’yeen (river of mist), or Skeena River, and concluded her time in the northwest in Dorreen in 1969 when she moved to the Sunshine Coast.
Her paintings reflect her life during a wildly transitional period characterized by the arrival of settlers before her birth and the development resulting from their presence. Her own geographical movements, influenced by her parents’ and spouses’ careers, played a significant role in shaping her art.
After having children, Lowrie moved frequently along the Skeena. She homesteaded and farmed in Smithers in the late 1920s and 1930s with her first husband of Norwegian descent and their children.
By the early 1940s, when her husband joined the Canadian Army during the Second World War, she worked in a cannery on the Skeena River alongside three of her children. There, she met Bruce Webb, who had Scottish and English roots. Edōsdi describes it as a life-long relationship. In the early 1960s, Elizabeth joined the staff at the Miller Bay Tuberculosis Indian Hospital located between Prince Rupert and Port Edward.
She had a strong connection to the Skeena River, expressed through her art, and was linked to communities along the river and railway, including Prince Rupert, the Cassiar Cannery, Shirley Sawmill, Moore’s Cove, Van Ardsoll, Two Mile Creek, Telkwa, Smithers, and Doughty.
Set against the backdrop of the Skeena, her works tell the stories of the early development of railways, as illustrated in several paintings she created while living near train stops along the line.
Her lifetime coincided with the transition from earlier modes of transportation—such as canoes and sternwheelers—to the emergence of trains, buses, cars, and airplanes as the norm. These technological and infrastructural changes are reflected in her art.
The tumultuous early-to-mid 20th century, followed by personal family challenges, such as her sister’s experience in a residential school, further reflect her intertwined heritage.
Lowrie the Artist
Usk did not have a school during Lowrie's first 11 years. Her sister Martha, who was five years older, taught her to read and write when she visited home from residential school.
Edōsdi says her grandmother, Elizabeth, was a self-taught artist who always wanted to go to art school, but never got the opportunity.
“My granny had actually started doing art and she was interested and passionate about it at a very young age, when she was just five years old,” said Edōsdi.
She used charcoal bits from wood ashes in the stove and paper wrappers from tin cans to draw on.
Lowrie then moved from sketching with pencil and charcoal to painting with watercolours and oil.
In 1947, her teenage son Wallace gifted her an oil painting set for Christmas, and she took up oil painting when they moved to Shirley Sawmill the following year.
Edōsdi says oil became her grandmother’s favourite painting medium quickly, and her paintings were overwhelmingly oil on canvas paper or canvas board.
Lowrie’s desire to document and make sense of the rapidly changing world around her is evident. Her work is grounded in realism, and her primary subjects were the landscapes, nature, and animals of her home in northwest B.C. She painted scenes from the Skeena River, several versions of the first development of the railway and train station at Usk.
She also made portraits and still life renderings.
Her style evolved as she sought inspiration from other artists, both Indigenous and settler. She admired the work of Canadian landscape artist Jessie H. Raycroft and American painters such as Paul Detlefsen. One of her key influences was Edwin Holgate, a Quebec artist who visited the Skeena in 1926 and created a portrait of Lowrie’s mother, Ksim Hloks.
Finally, in the 1950s and 1960s, when she lived in Prince Rupert, she enrolled in art classes at the Civic Centre.
Lowrie also drew creativity from calendars, postcards, magazines, and photographs. She diversified her paintings by incorporating pop culture figures such as Elvis Presley and Elizabeth Taylor.
Edōsdi says her grandmother kept diversifying, learning, and joining classes whenever possible and never stopped. Her paintings experimented with different techniques, mediums, colours, and materials.
Legacy
Beyond painting, Elizabeth also enjoyed knitting, crocheting, gardening, and baking.
Edōsdi recalls how her grandmother used acts of creation to connect with the world and her loved ones. She often sent homemade gifts, including her artwork, knitted sweaters, and baked goods to family members. The grandchildren were always excited to receive her Christmas parcels, filled with heartfelt gifts, birthday cards, and letters.
“We really wanted to know what our granny made us that year. I still have this poncho she made me. I have so many things that she’s made. But yeah, she really inspired me,” said Edōsdi.
Edōsdi also started to learn to crochet and embroider in Grade 4 due to the influence of her granny.
“She made me want to do well in school. I remember her telling me she kept all of her school books, it was so important to her. And I remember thinking, I should do the same thing.”
Lowrie ensured her love and wisdom continued influencing her family, even after she died in 1986. She inspired several of her descendants to embrace the arts, and they became artists themselves.
Notable examples include Kasha (Julie Anne Thompson Morris), Meaghan McRae, Lagas (Katrina Godfrey), and Dekhāmā (Kimberly Godfrey).
Elizabeth nurtured her love for the outdoors in her children by sharing essential teachings. She showed them how to forage for young fireweed shoots in spring, pick berries, and find the best fishing spots. Elizabeth also taught them to make willow whistles when the sap flowed and instilled a deep respect for nature. She sent flowers, vegetables from her garden, and other fresh items to her family and friends.
The exhibit displays her art, letters, and family photographs chronologically. A virtual version will soon be available for viewers, thanks to Edōsdi’s niece, Dekhāmā.
“She grew up as the town of Usk also grew,” said Edōsdi.
Edōsdi notes Susan Marsden, the director of the Museum of Northwest B.C. played a crucial role in helping her curate the exhibit, and they are planning a second part for 2025.
