Emily Carr

Emily Carr’s life story has all the qualities of an excellent biography — tragedy, inspiration, triumph, resolve, and eccentricity. Carr the eccentric, animal-loving recluse, figures prominently in the Canadian imagination. The celebrity status she enjoys today would come as a great shock to Carr, who for most of her life felt like an outcast, known more for her eccentricities than her artistic achievements.

Her independence as a woman when domesticity was expected, her resolve to travel frequently and unaccompanied to isolated First Nations villages, and her devotion to art despite the obstacles, distractions and criticism, remain inspirational.