Evelyn Cools-Middleton

Evelyn Marie Charlotte Alexandra Cools-Middleton was active in the Okanagan Valley arts community for over 45 years. Born in Vernon, BC, April 26, 1920 to Vera and Joseph Cools who were a pioneering family in the Vernon area with acreage at Carr’s Landing.

She tutored early as an artist by Jessie Topham Brown. After graduating from Vancouver’s Crofton House School for Girls in 1937. From there she attended the University of British Columbia, obtaining an Arts Degree in Education in 1942. She began her teaching career in Amstrong, BC. During the mid-1940s she spent her summers at the Banff School of Arts studying with A.Y. Jackson, Henry Glyde, and other prominent Canadian artists. She developed a particularly close relationship with Walter J. Phillips, and it is widely believed that she was the model for the skier in his well-known colour woodblock print from 1945, Ski Trail. He considered Evelyn Cools to be one of his finest students.

Walter J. Phillips, “Ski Trail” colour woodblock print, 1945. The woman in green is widely believed to be Evelyn Cools.

In 1947, Evelyn Cools earned a Diploma in Fine Arts from the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary, Alberta. On the recommendation of Walter Phillips she was awarded a British Columbia Council Scholarship in 1949 to study at the prestigious Camberwell School of Art in England.

Following her studies she spent time painting across post-war Europe before returning to Canada in 1951. Shortly after her return she met RCAF veteran W. Douglas Middleton, the brother of Janet (Holly) Middleton; the two married in August 1952, uniting two well-known Okanagan pioneering families. While raising five children between 1953 and 1959, Evelyn paused her career. She eventually inherited her family’s 21-acre lakeshore estate at Carr’s Landing, Vernon, in 1955.

Evelyn Cools-Middleton
woodblock print, 1944
Sugar Loaf Mountain from Cools Point Looking North

Evelyn Cools-Middleton’s legacy is not only as an artist, but also as an educator and community builder. In 1958 she and Douglas founded the Paddock Summer School of the Arts on their estate, modeled after the Banff School program. For nearly a decade the school hosted renowned instructors such as Sam Black and Zelko Kadjunzic, offering a rich environment for artists that included on-site cabins and camping. Even after the school closed, in 1967, Evelyn remained a driving force in the regional arts scene, co-founding the Oceola Artist Group, the Oceola Arts Council, and the Okanagan Mainline Regional Arts Council. A lifelong learner, she continued to master diverse mediums, including oils, etching, pottery, and batik, well into the 1980s.

Evelyn Cools-Middleton died in Winfield, BC, on July 5 1989, leaving behind a profound influence on the artistic landscape of the Interior. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Kelowna Art Gallery, the Vernon Art Gallery, and the Penticton Art Gallery.

Evelyn Cools-Middleton woodblock print on coloured paper, Christmas card 1947