Jump to content

Violet Keene

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Violet Keene
Keene, photographed c. 1910 by her mother
Born1893 (1893)
Died10 May 1987(1987-05-10) (aged 93–94)
OccupationPhotographer
SpouseHarold Edgar Perinchief
MotherMinna Keene

Violet Keene (1893 – 10 May 1987) was an English-born Canadian photographer.

Personal life

[edit]

In 1893, Violet Keene was born in Bath, Somerset, England, to the photographer Minna Keene. The family later moved to Canada, residing in Montreal and then Toronto. Keene married Harold Edgar Perinchief and retained her maiden name.[1] She died in Oakville, Ontario, on 10 May 1987.[2]

Career

[edit]

Keene first learned photography in her mother's Montreal studio.[1] She assisted her her mother with a 1914–1915 commission by Canadian Pacific Railway to photograph the Rocky Mountains for marketing materials. After her mother's 1943 death, Keene took over her studios in Oakville and Montreal.[3]

Violet Keene exhibited her work in both Europe and North America. In Toronto, she established her own studio where she photographed Canadian artists and statesmen such as Aldous Huxley, George Bernard Shaw,[1] and Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough.[4]

Art Canada Institute described Keene's work as "neglected for many years" before rediscovery was driven by a 1983 exhibition displayed at Art Gallery of Ontario and London Regional Art Gallery. The archives of her work (and her mother's) were acquired by The Image Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "KEENE, Violet (Perinchef)". Canadian Women Artists History Initiative. Concordia University. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Perinchief, Violet Keene (Died)". Oakville Beaver. 13 May 1987. p. S14. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b Bassnett, Sarah; Parsons, Sarah. "Minna Keene (1861, Arolson, Germany–1943, Oakville, Ontario) and Violet Keene Perinchief (1893, Bath, England–1987, Oakville, Ontario)". Photography in Canada, 1839–1989. Art Canada Institute. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  4. ^ Nault, Jennifer (28 January 2016). "The Changing Face of the Governor General". Canada's National History Society. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021. The prestigious role of Governor General of Canada dates back nearly 400 years, to the Governor of New France, Samuel de Champlain.
[edit]