Erica Rutherford

Erica Rutherford was born male in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1923. Erica struggled with gender identity and eventually underwent transsexual surgery. Her life and struggles were documented in her autobiography Nine Lives. Erica lived in the United States, Spain, South Africa and England before eventually settling on P.E.I. In 1939 she attended The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), in London at the age of sixteen and went on to produce the first all African feature film made in South Africa: 'Jim Comes to Joh'burg' aka 'African Jim' (1950). Erica Rutherford made lasting contributions to the Prince Edward Island arts scene, including being instrumental in the formation of the Great George Street Gallery. Her work has been exhibited in hundreds of group and solo shows, and is in the collections of the Canada Council Art Bank, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Arts Council of Great Britain. Erica also organized printmaking workshops that eventually led to the formation of the P.E.I. Printmakers Council. Her last show was at the Confederation Centre, entitled Enigmatic Whispers. Rutherford's health had deteriorated in recent years. She leaves behind her life partner, Gail Ambica Rutherford, her two daughters Susana and Erika, and grandson Myles Grimsdale