Alma Sawbridge (1915 - 1998)

Alma C. Sawbridge (nee. DePodesta) was born in Hamilton 1915, to a second generation immigrant family originally from Italy, but had prior settled in Ireland before coming to Canada. She was the daughter of Ruben DePodesta, who worked at the Tuckett Tobacco Company (1857-1930) in Hamilton, and Rachel May Buchanan. Sawbridge grew up amongst a large family which included her ten siblings. She was the first born girl and third oldest. It is believed by her niece Audrey Price that because Sawbridge was a caregiver of her siblings, she chose to marry and not have children. Alma, then DePodesta, married Lloyd Sawbridge-a photo technician- took on his name and began living life her way.

As a mature student, Alma Sawbridge sought further art training, even though artistic practice had been engrained in her daily life. From 1951-1952 Sawbridge completed an evening certificate class at Delta Secondary School, Hamilton, in Intermediate Fine Arts. The following year in 1953, she completed an additional certificate in Advance Fine Arts.

Sawbridge’s artistic nature and interest in oil painting was continually nurtured as she was an active member with the Woman’s Arts Association of Hamilton (WAAH). Involvement allowed her to meet artists like Juanita Lebarre Symington (1904-1980) who Sawbridge’s style is often compared with, and abstract artist Hortense Gordon (1886-1961). On several occasions, Sawbridge explored abstraction and geometrics through pen and ink and oil paints that can be connected back to Gordon’s work.

During a summer in 1958-60, Sawbridge attended the Doon School of Art, now known as the Homer Watson Gallery, Kitchener; the former home of artist Homer Watson. Doon is noted on several of Sawbridge’s drawings and paintings often on verso. Specially, on the verso of a painting titled “Home of Homer Watson, Now Studio”, Sawbridge noted she constructed the painting under the guidance of notable Canadian abstract artist Jock MacDonald (1897-1960). MacDonald taught several summer sessions at the school from 1958 to 60, as a way to earn a living. Sawbridge illustrates characteristics of MacDonald’s influence by way of the fracture of colour and the application of ‘dots’ that break the plane of colour. Sawbridge’s continued to integrate abstraction into her own practice, but still leaned towards a literal imagery. 

Sawbridge’s primary subject matter was urban, rural and seas-scapes, as well as travel imagery from Northern Ontario to Western Canada to Cape Cod. For many years, Sawbridge and her husband travelled to Cape Cod and Gloucester where her husband would fish from the pier, while she painted the boats in the harbour area.

Sawbridge oil paintings demonstrate an impressionistic aesthetic. Her landscapes often showcase evident brush strokes that highlight movement in a forest, or the gentle flow of a river. With colour, Sawbridge showcases the ability to make oil paint luminous. Having a strong foundation in technical drawing enhances Sawbridge’s ability to know where and how light hits the subject.

As a skilled technical drawer, Alma Sawbridges practiced in pen, ink, graphite, pastel, and conte. Lloyd Sawbridge became a prominent subject matter in many of Alma’s daily drawings. Lloyd was often depicted reading or sleeping in the interior of their primary residence at 168 Kenilworth Street South. Her husband was not the only subject matter captured in pen and ink. Sawbridge took to looking with great care at her interior surroundings, such as her kitchen, and the people around her. In a particular drawing, Sawbridge notes that the dancer she illustrates was done at the Nancy Campbell Studio. Nancy Campbell (1906-1980), who was also part of the WAAH, was an accomplished dancer, artist, pianist and actress. As a dancer, Campbell became well known and respected as a teacher of ballet, and clearly welcomed members of the WAAH to practice drawing in her studio.

Alma Sawbridge is recognized in her local art community for her distinctively bright colored landscapes and still life paintings. Alma Sawbridge often exhibited with the Women’s Arts Association of Hamilton. She gave art lessons out of her house on Kenilworth South. Fondly remembered as a glamourous lady who drove around Hamilton in a red Studebaker with nails to match, she now rests in the notable Woodland Cemetery, Hamilton.

Source: Curator Andrea Jackman M.A.