Park dedication set to celebrate legacy of Woodstock artist Florence Carlyle
Raised in Woodstock, Carlyle was an internationally recognized artist who garnered numerous accolades during her career.
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The life and legacy of arguably Woodstock’s most renowned artist will be celebrated this weekend with a special event that includes the naming of a new park.
Organized by the Woodstock Art Gallery and the City of Woodstock, the free Saturday afternoon event will officially open the new Florence Carlyle Park in the city’s west end. The dedication of the park at Vansittart and Ingersoll avenues will also include the launch of a new public art commission to commemorate Carlyle’s many accomplishments.
The park opening also roughly coincides with the 100th anniversary of Carlyle’s death on May 2, 1923.
The event is open to the public and will include several art activities, music and refreshments. The first 100 people to arrive for the dedication will receive a free tote bag containing a Northern Paint Kit from Beam Paints. Attendees will also be entered into a draw for a chance to win one of three art-supply prize packages.
Several dignitaries will also be taking part in the dedication, including Mayor Jerry Acchione, gallery curator Mary Reid, gallery board chair Leslie Sorochan and artist Maxine Noel.
The park dedication stems from an August 2021 decision by Woodstock city council to rename the west side of Vansittart Park in Carlyle’s honour.
Raised in Woodstock, Carlyle was an internationally recognized artist who garnered numerous accolades during her career. After continuing her education as a painter in Paris in the late 1800s, she returned to Canada and opened studios in Woodstock and London.
In 1897, she became the first woman artist to be elected as an association of the Royal Canadian Academy. Following the opening of her studio in New York City, Carlyle won several awards for her works, including a silver medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition for her oil painting, The Tiff.
Carlyle would eventually move to Sussex, England, with her partner, Juliet Hastings. Much of her work is now in the permanent collection of the Woodstock Art Gallery.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Florence Carlyle Park dedication
WHEN: Saturday, May 6, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
WHERE: Florence Carlyle Park, Vansittart Avenue at Ingersoll Avenue
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