Ladies Art Committee

The Ladies Art Committee, or Kitchener Art Committee, was a group of four art enthusiasts who lived in Berlin (now Kitchener) in the early 1900s.

Sarah Williams, Geneva Jackson, Florence Sims, and Ida Cram endeavoured to create an art gallery within the city. Though they were unsuccessful in creating a bricks-and-mortar facility, their dedication and hard work provided the foundation for the later development of a gallery.

Geneva Jackson was the aunt of Group of Seven painter, A.Y. Jackson, and, in 1921, the Ladies Art Committee mounted one of the first art exhibitions to feature their work. Over the next 22 years, the Committee arranged lectures and exhibitions for local residents.

The Committee purchased five paintings by Group of Seven members and one by Tom Thomson with the proceeds of the lectures. These paintings were intended to be the core collection for the permanent art gallery. Another four paintings were added to the collection and were displayed in different venues throughout Kitchener until 1943.

By this time, Ida and Florence had passed away and plans for the art gallery had not progressed. The controversial decision was made to donate the paintings to the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

The Ladies Art Committee members’ dream was eventually realized in 1956 with the opening of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery.

Photo: Geneva Jackson (right side); Florence Sims, Sarah Williams, and Ida Cram (left side, top to bottom)

Photo courtesy of University of Waterloo Library, Special Collections and Archives. Clement & Bowlby family fonds, and George DeKay