Betty Davison

Betty Davison (nee Elizabeth Mary Gertrude Young) was born in Ottawa. She studied life drawing and sculpture with Lionel and Ernest Fosbery at the High School of Commerce. At the same time, Davison joined the Ottawa Little Theatre. In 1939, she married Richard Lewis, who passed away only three years later. To support her family financially, Davison painted portraits and took on secretarial work at the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa. In 1952, the artist married Arthur Davison, an architect and fellow actor at the Ottawa Little Theatre. During the 1960s, Davison took several art classes at Carleton University and at the Ottawa Municipal Art Centre. Her work is often humorous, with sexual references. Davison's works have been featured in solo and group exhibitions across Canada and the United States. She has exhibited with notable artists such as Louise Nevelson and Frank Stella. In the 1970s, Davison began studying printmaking with Hilde Schreier, who also introduced her to the process of casting paper. One of Davison's cast paper prints, "Paper Roses" (1974), won her an award of $1,000 from the Ontario Arts Council. Over her lengthy career, Davison garnered numerous prizes and distinctions, including the Martha Jackson Gallery Purchase Award (1977), the Reid Memorial Award (1977), the Harold Pitman Prize (1979) and the Ontario Arts Council "Editions I" Award (1974).

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