Thelma van Alstyne


Thelma Van Alstyne was a Canadian artist elected to the Royal [Canadian Academy of Arts] in 1977.

Life and career

Van Alstyne was born in Victoria, British Columbia. Although she studied at the Vancouver School of Art, she is mostly self-taught. She worked as a secretary before becoming an artist. After moving to Toronto, Ontario, she became more active in the arts scene. She created abstract art among other types, often using watercolour and pastel, or oil paint as her mediums.
Beyond art, van Alsytne was deeply spiritual, and practised and taught Tai chi.
Van Alstyne died in Port Hope, Ontario, on August 24, 2008.

Work

Van Alstyne's work is held by the Art Museum at the University of Toronto.
Since her death, several of van Alstyne's works have been sold at auctions.
Queen's University Archives has a folder of text materials archived, and the Toronto Public Library has two images of van Alystne from the 1960s in their digital archive.

Major exhibitions

In 1977, Alystne was elected a member of the Royal [Canadian Academy of Arts].
Alstyne was listed in both the International Who's Who and the Canadian Who's Who.