Out of print for more than 40 years, this is an intimate and heartwarming biography that throws a whole new light on one of Canada's most beloved and iconic artists.

In 1916, Emily Carr wasn’t famous. She was poor, and she taught art classes to children to make a living. One of her students was seven-year-old Carol Pearson. Pearson spent hours every day with Carr: they painted together at the water’s edge, and she helped care for the dogs, birds, monkey and other animals that Carr kept as pets. Carr nicknamed Pearson “Baboo,” and Carol called her “Mom.” The two were as close as mother and daughter for twenty-five years, up until Carr passed away.

This touching tribute to Carr illustrates a gentleness and sensitivity not seen in other biographies. Originally published in 1954 and long out of print, this very unique biography reveals Carr's personality more fully than any other. With a new foreword by Robert Amos, Canadian art historian.

"No more penetrating picture will be given us of the great person who was Emily Carr than this ... Humour is mixed with tragedy, and tales that never appeared in Klee Wyck were told to Carol." —the Globe & Mail

Carol (WIlliams) Pearson first came to know Emily Carr when her parents enrolled her in art classes with the celebrated painter. Young Pearson soon became one of Carr's closest friends. Their intimate friendship lasted even after Pearson moved to Ontario in 1926. Pearson was a horsewoman and animal trainer, a skill she learned from Carr. She lived in Ontario until her death.

Carol Pearson's profile page

Robert Amos has painted thousands of pictures of the urban landscape and specializes in commissioned paintings of homes and gardens. He writes a weekly column, "On Art," published in the Times Colonist, and is the author (and illustrator) of seven books about Victoria, including , Artists in their Studios: Where Art is Born, and Inside Chinatown: Ancient Culture in a New World. Robert has recently been the artist in residence at the Fairmont Empress Hotel and is an Honorary Citizen of Victoria. He was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1995. Robert lives in downtown Victoria, British Columbia. Please visit Robert's website at robertamos.com.

Robert Amos' profile page

Robert Amos provided both the foreword and the cover image for Emily Carr As I Knew Her. He speaks with Oak Bay New about his original copy and why he wanted the book to be rediscovered.

Read "Lucky Seven", the first story in Carol Pearson's Emily Carr As I Knew Her, in the Vancouver Sun