PERMANENT COLLECTION

BETTY WARNOCK

NATIONALITY: American / Canadian

DATES: b. 1933

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Betty Warnock was born in Maryland, USA. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the American University, Washington, D.C., 1959 and also has 6 credits towards her Masters Degree. She was the assistant to the Art Director at Watkins Art Gallery, The American University, 1958-59. She taught art at a Junior High School in Maryland from 1959-62. Warnock moved to Canada in 1963 and obtained Canadian citizenship in 1970. She has had solo and group exhibitions from 1959-1980 throughout Canada and the United States.

In 1963 John W. Warnock, Betty, and their daughter moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where he taught in the Department of Economics and Political Science at the University of Saskatchewan. He was active in the New Democratic Party, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and worked with the National Farmers Union’s winter education program.

A major change occurred in 1973 when the family moved to Naramata to become commercial orchardists. John was active in the British Columbia Fruit Growers Association, the Naramata Growers Co-operative, the National Farmers Union, the South Okanagan Civil Liberties Association, and was a founding member of the South Okanagan Environmental Coalition. During this time he continued to research and write, focusing on the food and agriculture industry. He was one of two BC commissioners on the national Peoples’ Food Commission.

The family moved to Victoria, BC in 1981 where John worked as an independent researcher and writer, while teaching for one year in the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria. He was a representative for the Society for the Promotion of Environmental Conservation (SPEC) on the steering committee of the Solidarity Coalition.

In 1986 John moved to Regina, Saskatchewan to take a position teaching at the University of Regina. Betty moved to Alvena and then Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to pursue her art career full time. At the University of Regina, John taught in the Political Science Department, the School of Human Justice, and the School of Social Work. His base was in the Department of Sociology and Social Science.

Over the subsequent years, Betty has worked as an interior designer at Betty Warnock Interior Design Inc., and has had a weaving studio, Betty Warnock Art, and an art studio. She has taken classes at the Birmingham Museum of Art, the de Young School of Art, and is currently working with Gail Chase Bien in a shared studio in Napa.

WORKS BY ARTIST