| Gladys Reeves | |
| Birth Place: | Somerset, United Kingdom |
| Death Place: | Edmonton, Canada |
| Nationality: | Canadian |
| Field: | Photography |
Gladys Reeves (1890–1974),[1] was an Edmonton, Alberta photographer, establishing a photographic studio in 1920 and staying in business until 1950.[2]
Gladys Reeves was born in 1890 in Somerset, England. She and her family emigrated to Edmonton, Canada in 1904.[2]
In 1905 she started her career in photography working as a receptionist for the photographer Ernest Brown.[2] Brown helped Reeves start her own studio named The Art League in 1920. This was the first woman-owned photographic studio in Canada west of Winnipeg.[3] The studio specialized in portraits and commercial photography[2] [4]
In 1929 Reeves' first studio was destroyed by fire, but reopened at a new location on Jasper Avenue.[2]
Reeves and Brown opened the Pioneer Days Museum in the 1930s.[1]
Concurrent with her success as a photographer, Reeves was involved with the beautification of Edmonton. She belonged to the Edmonton Horticultural Society where she served a term as President; the first woman to hold that office. She was a charter member of the Edmonton Tree Planting Committee.[5] In 1923 the Edmonton Tree Planting Committee coordinated the planting of more than 5,000 trees on boulevards in Edmonton.[2]
Reeves died in Edmonton on 26 April 1974 at the age of 83.[2]
Her works were included in a 1983 exhibition entitled "Rediscovery: Canadian Women Photographers 1841–1941".[1]
A collection of Reeves' photographs is in the Provincial Archives of Alberta[1]