Euphemia McNaught

1902 - 2002

Euphemia "Betty" McNaught was a Canadian impressionist painter who focused primarily on landscapes and pioneer lifestyles in Alberta. She was born in Glen Morris, Ontario, in 1902, and died at the age of 100 in Beaverlodge, Alberta.

At the age of 10, Euphemia McNaught moved from Glen Morris, Ontario, to Beaverlodge, Alberta. After graduating from the local school, she taught there for two years. Afterwards, she enrolled in the Ontario College of Art and Design, and studied under Group of Seven members Arthur Lismer and James Edward MacDonald. While in the college, McNaught met fellow artist, Annora Brown.

She graduated the college in 1929 and moved to Calgary to pursue teaching at the Mount Royal College. In 1931, after two years of teaching in Calgary, she moved to Whitby, Ontario, to teach at the Ontario Ladies' College. After a brief absence due to her father's death and her job painting the Alaska Highway, she began teaching at the University of Alberta Department of Extension in Grand Prairie in 1955.

In 1942, McNaught was commissioned by Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to document the construction of the Alaska Highway.

She was the founding member of the Grande Prairie Art Club and the Beaverlodge Art Club. Along with the Alberta Society of Artists, McNaught's work was displayed at the 1931 Calgary Stampede and Exhibition. In 1973, McNaught joined the Peace Watercolour Society. In 1985, she was elected as a lifetime member of the Alberta Society of Artists.

After her death, McNaught's pieces were featured in the National Gallery of Canada.