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Born in 1899 in Petrolia, Ontario, Gertrude (Van Delinder) Fleming moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1905 with her parents. She studied at Mount Royal College and after graduation attended Washington State University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in art. Returning to Calgary, she taught at Mount Royal College. After marriage, she moved to Edmonton, where she became a member of the Edmonton Art Club and an Associate Member of the Alberta Society of Artists (at the time, Associate Member status was reserved for women) and served for a time as President of the Women's Society of the Edmonton Museum of Art. She also served as one of the original members of the Visual Arts Board of Alberta. She moved back to Calgary during the Second World War, where she continued her active involvement with the art community as Chairman of the Calgary Art Association.
Gertrude Fleming was well-known for her watercolours, in particular for her delicate floral paintings which were featured in numerous exhibitions, including shows organized by the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, Toronto; the Art Association of Montreal; the Art Gallery of Toronto; Hart House, Toronto; Washington State University; the Manitoba Society of Artists; and the Alberta Society of Artists. She had little interest in fitting her art into a particular genre or movement, stating that “After all, you paint the things you like – you paint, or write, what is inside you.”
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