Lois Betteridge

Lois Etherington Betteridge OC (6 November 1928 – 21 February 2020) was a Canadian silversmith, goldsmith, designer and educator, and a major figure in the Canadian studio craft movement. Betteridge entered Canadian silversmithing in the 1950s, at a time when the field was dominated by male artists and designers, many of them émigrés from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. In fact, Betteridge was the first Canadian silversmith to attain international stature in the post-war studio craft movement.

In 1978, Betteridge became the second recipient of the annual Saidye Bronfman Award, Canada's foremost national award for fine craft. In 1997, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honour, bestowed for a lifetime of distinguished service to the community. In 2010, Lois Betteridge received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society of North American Goldsmiths. These three honours reflect Betteridge's significance in Canadian arts and culture, and in North American metal arts. Judith Nasby, Director of the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, identifies Betteridge as "without doubt Canada’s most highly honored and most influential silversmith".^: 59

Over a six-decade career, Betteridge taught and mentored several generations of Canadian metal artists, smiths, and jewellers, including First Nations sculptor Mary Anne Barkhouse, and fellow Bronfman Award winner Kye-Yeon Son. She maintained a studio in Guelph, Ontario until shortly before her death.