The award-winning cultural historian and biographer, Maria Tippett, died last week at her home on Pender Island. She was 79 years old.
Anyone interested in the cultural history of Canada, and particularly British Columbia, owes a huge debt to Ms Tippett. Her 1979 biography of Emily Carr (above, my well-worn copy) won a Governor General's Award and her 1998 biography of Fred Varley, Stormy Weather, is a candid portrait of the Group of Seven artist who spent ten years in Vancouver. She also published a biography of the Haida artist, Bill Reid, and a collection of essays about major cultural figures in BC, her native province.
For a full obituary, see here.