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woman and ambitious to develop as a painter. Finding life in her town of Dunedin too confining, she had come to Europe, and like Emily, had been in London and Cornwall to study. Finding New Zealand still unsatisfactory when she returned, Hodgkins had come to France in 1906 to learn with the moderns. Also, like Emily, she found cities stifling and had settled in Brittany. In France, both women found that although they were considered foreigners, they were not looked down upon as colonials. Unlike Emily, who always felt that she belonged only in Victoria, Franceswould remain in Europe, and later achieved a reputation in England.
    The culmination of Emily’s sojourn in France came on the day in 1911 when she walked down the Champs-Élysées to the annual Salon d’Automne at the Grand Palais. There, two of her works, which had been submitted by Harry Gibb, were accepted to hang among the most daring and innovative artists of her time.
    When she departed for Canada, it was not only as an accomplished painter, but also as a modern artist.

CHAPTER EIGHT
The Wild Beast
    The style of painting that Emily had learned in France is generally called Post-Impressionism, but it would be more accurate to label it Fauve. In French, the word means literally “wild beast,” and was the derogatory term used by an unsympathetic critic to characterize the artists whose use of pure, bright colour struck him as savage and crude.
    As soon as she re-established herself in a Vancouver studio in 1912, Emily held an exhibition of the works she had painted in France. The newspaper reviews were polite but befuddled. Except for a few artist friends, the reaction of those who came to see the new works ranged from confusion to hostility. The paintings were derided as uncouth and primitive, and some of her supporters urged her to return to a style that people could more easily understand. Sales were practically nonexistent and Emily found it difficult to resume teaching. She was an avant-garde painter now, but she was alone, one of the few modernist painters in the entire country. Not even the Group of Seven would makesuch daring use of colour and form until almost a decade later.
    Undeterred, Emily turned to the grand project she had postponed when she left for France: she set out to make a record for posterity of the totem poles of the West Coast. She undertook an ambitious, six-week-long journey north and east to the interior of British Columbia, painting everywhere she stopped. Now she had the understanding and the technique to paint, not as a camera would record, but as an artist would see. The word “Indian” began to be associated with her name, as Native motifs were now the exclusive subject of her paintings. A certain notoriety began to attach itself to her reputation.
    In 1912 Emily approached the provincial government with the suggestion that they purchase the collection as a historical record, and help fund her future trips, for the project was by no means completed. An expert was sent to look at the work and make an assessment. While he was sympathetic, his report indicated that her paintings were not suitable as an ethnographic record. Her colours were too vivid, and her style too expressive, for the works to accurately reflect the true nature of the poles and sites. The government turned down Emily’s offer. It was a short-sighted decision. Even if the pictures don’t conform to strict anthropological criteria, they would indeedhave been a significant collection for posterity. Other than her paintings and some historical photographs, there is no documentation of the places she visited. And, just as she anticipated, many of the poles have weathered and disintegrated or been removed to other places.
    Surprisingly, Emily became friends with the expert sent to evaluate the paintings, C.F. Newcombe, a physician and anthropologist, who seems to have sympathized with and encouraged her interests. In 1913 Emily rented