Mildred Valley Thornton

Mildred Valley Stinson was born a few miles from Rutherford, Ontario, on May 7, 1890. She came from a large farming family.Salloum 2011, p. 1. Her early interests included poetry, drawing, and painting. Stinson may have been influenced by her uncle, Edward Longman, an Oxford scholar who was also a painter.Salloum 2011, p. 3. Thornton's personality has been described as "fun-loving, driven, and outgoing."{{Cite news|title=Forgotten B.C. artist topic of Surrey talk|newspaper=Surrey Now-Leader|date=April 1, 2012|url=https://www.surreynowleader.com/entertainment/forgotten-b-c-artist-topic-of-surrey-talk/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509154325/https:a//www.surreynowleader.com/entertainment/forgotten-b-c-artist-topic-of-surrey-talk/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live}} In 1907, she enrolled in Olivet College, Michigan, following in the footsteps of her aunt, Evelyn Beatrice Longman, a noted sculptor.Salloum 2011, pp. 4–5. Stinson graduated in 1910. She lived in Toronto for a few years, briefly attending the Ontario School of Art. Two of her instructors were George Agnew Reid and John William Beatty. She employed Beatty's compositional style of a low horizon and muted colours in some of her early paintings.Salloum 2011, pp. 6–7. Stinson also had an admiration for the work of Tom Thomson.Salloum 2011, p. 9.

Image:Fireguard Saskatchewan circa 1920.jpg

In 1913, Stinson moved to Regina.MacDonald 2008. While there, a First Nations man standing on a railway station platform made such an impression that she decided upon her future painting subjects.Salloum 2011, pp. 9–10. Her fascination with Indigenous peoples had begun earlier, with the Lenape of southern Ontario.

Stinson married John Henry Thornton, a businessman, on April 28, 1915.{{Cite news|title=Valley-Thornton|newspaper=The Morning Leader|location=Regina|date=April 29, 1915|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100080493/marriage-of-mildred-valley-stinson-to/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509154724/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100080493/marriage-of-mildred-valley-stinson-to/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}Salloum 2011, pp. 10–11. In 1918–1919, Mildred attended the Art Institute of Chicago.Salloum 2011, pp. 11–12. By 1920, Thornton had become an instructor at the Regina College of Art.{{Cite news|title=Art in the West|newspaper=Saskatoon Daily Star|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102420581/art-in-the-west-mildred-valley/|access-date=May 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523225359/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102420581/art-in-the-west-mildred-valley/|archive-date=May 23, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} Her pastoral landscapes of this period are marked by a colourful palette and aggressive brushstrokes.Salloum 2011, p. 10. In 1926, along with other artists she made a pilgrimage to Canoe Lake in Ontario, site of Tom Thomson's death.Salloum 2011, pp. 17–18. Later that same year, she had twin sons, John Milton (Jack) and Walter Maitland.{{Cite news|last=Moore|first=Mary Ann|title=Remembering a regretfully forgotten artist|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=January 21, 2012|page=36|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99976243/remembering-a-regretfully-forgotten/|access-date=May 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509155013/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99976243/remembering-a-regretfully-forgotten/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} Over the ensuing decades, John Thornton's support of his wife's calling was an immense help to Mildred's career, with John often taking on extended caregiving duties during his wife's travels.Salloum 2011, pp. 13, 19.

Thornton began painting First Nations people in 1928, and always paid them for their time. She had a genuine interest in her subjects, both as individuals and for their culture.Mildred Vallery Thornton, FRSA (1890–1967), p. 9. Thornton said that her first forays into Indigenous portraiture were often met with suspicion or hostility, but over time she gained easier access.{{Cite news|last1=Francis|first1=Margaret|last2=Francis|first2=Robert|title=Keeper of a Culture|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=January 6, 1951|page=4 (Sunday Sun magazine)|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100822468/keeper-of-a-culture-mildred-valley/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509155232/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100822468/keeper-of-a-culture-mildred-valley/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} Some of the tribes she visited included the Kainai Nation, Cree, Assiniboine, Blackfoot, Piikani Nation, Tsuutʼina Nation, Sioux, Nakoda, and Saulteaux.Westbridge 2003, p. 63. In some cases her portraits were the only recorded likeness of a person.Salloum 2011, pp. 66–67. Her fascination with native peoples, which grew into a sort of obsession, restrained her artistic career while at the same time spread her fame as an "Indian painter."Mildred Valley Thornton, FRSA (1890–1967), p. 6. During her lifetime the Indigenous portraits were never for sale.Mildred Valley Thornton, FRSA (1890–1967), p. 7. She also attended native ceremonies, such as the Sun Dance near Gleichen, Alberta. This wider reference to native culture led Thornton to embark on a series of mythological and historical paintings.

Thornton was responsible in 1930 for organizing the representation of Saskatchewan artists at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.{{Cite news|title=Saskatchewan Artists Will Send Paintings to Toronto Exhibition|newspaper=The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix|date=July 18, 1930|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100017418/saskatchewan-artists-will-send/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509155516/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100017418/saskatchewan-artists-will-send/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} The following year, the premier of Saskatchewan, James Anderson, opened an exhibit of Thornton's work.{{Cite news|title=Premier Opens Exhibit of Mrs. Thornton's Work|newspaper=The Leader-Post|location=Regina|date=May 21, 1931|page=10|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100081750/premier-opens-exhibit-by-mildred-valley/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509155747/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100081750/premier-opens-exhibit-by-mildred-valley/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} In 1932, she painted the portrait of Arthur Meighen, former Prime Minister of Canada.{{Cite news|title=Recent Portrait by Regina Artist|newspaper=The Leader-Post|location=Regina|date=August 5, 1932|page=7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100081105/portrait-of-arthur-meighen-by-mildred/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509160032/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100081105/portrait-of-arthur-meighen-by-mildred/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} In the early 1930s, Thornton exhibited at the Canadian National Exhibition, the Ontario Society of Artists, the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.Salloum 2011, pp. 13, 15.

As a result of the Great Depression impacting his restaurant business, John Thornton moved west in 1934 to Vancouver. Mildred and her sons followed, although they left soon after for a stay in Toronto of seven months. Back in Vancouver, John opened a confectionery store.Salloum 2011, pp. 26–27. When the family was reunited, Mildred lost no time in organizing an exhibition at the Hudson's Bay store in Vancouver. In 1936, she had a solo exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery.Salloum 2011, p. 27.

From her Vancouver base, she travelled as far north as Alaska and east to the Kootenays. She painted among the Haida, Tsimshian, Nisga'a, Gitxsan, Kwakwaka'wakw, Dakelh, Secwepemc, and Salish.Ashwell 1979, p. 30. She used whatever available means of transportation to reach her destinations, travelling by foot, canoe, horseback, steamboat, automobiles and trains.{{Cite news|last=Gregory|first=Myrtle Patterson|title=Interprets Indians on Canvas and in Lectures|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=November 24, 1945|page=16|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99998321/interprets-indians-on-canvas-and-in/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509160549/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99998321/interprets-indians-on-canvas-and-in/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} She painted her subjects wherever they were located, for example, at country fairs or at the Calgary Stampede. Sometimes they were nearby, as when she painted in 1946 five Indigenous men in Kitsilano, including Chiefs Willie Seaweed and Dan Cranmer, who had come to Vancouver for the city jubilee.{{Cite news|title=Paints Portraits of Indian Chiefs|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=July 12, 1946|page=15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100785475/paints-portraits-of-indian-chiefs/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509160752/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100785475/paints-portraits-of-indian-chiefs/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} She often took a slide projector with her to show examples of her work to prospective sitters.{{Cite news|last=Ashwell|first=Reg|title=Tribute to a lady who painted Indians|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=April 8, 1971|page=5A (Leisure)|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100818838/tribute-to-a-lady-who-painted-indians/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509161526/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100818838/tribute-to-a-lady-who-painted-indians/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} One of her most celebrated portraits was of the Haida matriarch Agnes Russ. Thornton recorded the potlatch, secret society rituals, whaling, and handiwork. Like Emily Carr and others, she travelled to remote First Nations communities to paint totem poles, villages and depictions of daily life.Salloum 2011, p. 87. She was given at least four honorary names, including "Ah-ou-Mookht", meaning "the one who wears a blanket because she is of noble birth", received from Kwakwaka'wakw Chief Charley Nowell.Salloum 2011, p. 48.

Thornton taught at the Commercial and Fine Arts Training Centre in Vancouver during the early 1940s.{{Cite news|title=Mildred Thornton Interprets B.C. Beauty with Rare Skill|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=November 18, 1941|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101276251/mildred-thornton-interprets-bc-beauty/|access-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509161755/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101276251/mildred-thornton-interprets-bc-beauty/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} In 1944, she was instrumental in bringing about an exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery entitled British Columbia at Work, on behalf of the Labor Arts Guild.Watson 1983, p. 73. In the same year, she became art critic for the Vancouver Sun, contributing in that role for the next fifteen years.Newman 1990, p. 252.

Her columns were sometimes dismissive of avant-garde art.Salloum 2011, pp. 102–103. Thornton was involved in numerous organizations, with affiliations in at least ten cultural groups.Salloum 2011, p. 28. In 1948, for example, she was on the executive of the Canadian Women's Press Club, a member of the Canadian Authors Association, and vice-president of the Vancouver Poetry Society.{{Cite news|title=Coast Artist To Be Speaker|newspaper=The Edmonton Bulletin|date=February 28, 1947|page=17|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100704436/coast-artist-to-be-speaker-mildred/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509162010/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100704436/coast-artist-to-be-speaker-mildred/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} One of the publications she wrote for was The Native Voice.{{Cite journal|last=Armytage-Moore|first=M.|title="Tzinquaw" Great Success|journal=The Native Voice|location=Vancouver|date=November 1950|volume=IV|number=11}}Salloum 2011, p. 34. Sometime in the 1940s Thornton befriended the Indigenous carver Ellen Neel.Salloum 2011, pp. 31–34. Thornton frequently lectured on First Nations peoples and culture, often drawing large audiences.Salloum 2011, p. 42. She had acquired the buckskin dress of Pauline Johnson, and Thornton often wore regalia to her performances.Salloum 2011, pp. 48–49.

She toured Eastern Canada in 1954, showing slides of her paintings along with her tape recordings of Indigenous songs.{{Cite news|title=Lecture Tour on Indians|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=January 30, 1954|page=29|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101274027/lecture-tour-on-indians-mildred-valley/|access-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509162219/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101274027/lecture-tour-on-indians-mildred-valley/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}

Her husband John Thornton died in 1958, and her son Maitland invited her to London, where she stayed until 1961.Salloum 2011, p. 123. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1958.Salloum 2011, p. 119. In 1960, she gave illustrated lectures to the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth League.{{Cite news|title=City Artist Acclaimed in London|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=March 5, 1960|page=24|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100151395/city-artist-mildred-valley-thornton/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509162610/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100151395/city-artist-mildred-valley-thornton/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} In the next year, a major exhibition of her work in London was held at the Commonwealth Institute.{{Cite book|title=Mildred Valley Thornton: The Canadian Indian and Other Paintings|publisher=Commonwealth Institute|location=London|date=1961}} She published her first book in 1966, Indian Lives and Legends.{{cite news|title=Indian Legends Published by Local Author|newspaper=The Kerrisdale Courier|date=April 21, 1966}} The book combined her portraits and personal experiences.

Thornton was a fervent collector of Indigenous artifacts, either given to her or bought. Her home in the early 1960s overflowed with carvings, masks, small totem poles, drums, and other objects.{{Cite news|last=Ashwell|first=Reg|title=Tribute to a lady who painted Indians|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=April 8, 1971|page=4A (Leisure)|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100817881/tribute-to-a-lady-who-painted-indians/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509163011/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100817881/tribute-to-a-lady-who-painted-indians/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} Her collection was sold to the provincial government for a low sum when she had to move into an apartment.{{Cite news|last=Ashwell|first=Reg|title=Tribute to a lady who painted Indians|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=April 8, 1971|page=6A (Leisure)|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100819105/tribute-of-a-lady-who-painted-indians/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509163234/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100819105/tribute-of-a-lady-who-painted-indians/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} Thornton's sound recordings were purchased by the British Columbia Archives, which in some cases have proved invaluable after her death.Salloum 2011, pp. 65–66.

She had been trying as early as 1946 to find an institutional home for her collection of First Nations portraits, but was rebuffed on all subsequent attempts.Salloum 2011, pp. 123–133. In June 1967, she added a codicil in her will that her works should either be sold in one large auction, or taken to the dump, have gasoline poured over them, and set aflame. Fortunately the codicil had not been properly witnessed, thereby preserving the paintings.Salloum 2011, p. 133.

Thornton died on July 27, 1967, in Vancouver after suffering from phlebitis for several years.{{Cite news|title=Mildred Thornton, City Artist, Dies|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=July 27, 1967|page=5|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100784442/mildred-thornton-city-artist-dies/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509163503/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100784442/mildred-thornton-city-artist-dies/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}Salloum 2011, p. 57.

In her portraiture, she favoured depictions of older chiefs, artists, and relatives of important personages, later expanding her focus to anyone who interested her.{{Cite news|title=Owas – Ka – Ta – Esk – Ean|newspaper=The Province|location=Vancouver|date=May 21, 1949|page=8 (magazine)|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101275468/owas-ka-ta-esk-ean-mildred/|access-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509163746/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101275468/owas-ka-ta-esk-ean-mildred/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}Salloum 2011, p. 41. She occasionally painted children.{{Cite news|title=Paintings of City Woman are Praised|newspaper=The Province|location=Vancouver|date=November 29, 1939|page=16|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101274571/paintings-of-city-woman-are-praised/|access-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509164028/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101274571/paintings-of-city-woman-are-praised/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} Working quickly on portraits, Thornton made an initial charcoal sketch. Her sitters were shown in profile, frontal or three-quarters views, usually just presenting the head and shoulders.Salloum 2011, p. 67. The poses of her subjects have been described as natural. For artists, she sometimes included background carvings.Salloum 2011, p. 78. Her support materials were at times improvised, and paintings exist on plywood, Masonite, cardboard, and even discarded doors. She worked quickly, as she often had under an hour to complete the portrait, so she concentrated on the face, filling in the clothing details later.Mildred Valley Thornton, FRSA (1890–1967), pp. 9–10. Art specialist Uno Langmann has noted that Thornton worked with large brushstrokes which has sometimes been criticized.Salloum 2011, p. 59. One reviewer in 1989 thought the minimalist features of her portraits gave them a contemporary look.{{Cite news|last=Robertson|first=Sheila|title=Unfulfilled vision adds poignancy to paintings|newspaper=The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix|page=16 (Sunday Accent)|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100826660/unfilled-vision-adds-poignancy-to/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509164310/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100826660/unfilled-vision-adds-poignancy-to/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}

Wherever she went, she made watercolour sketches of the landscape which rarely incorporated figures.{{Cite journal|last=Colman|first=Mary Elizabeth|title=Thornton's Indian: This BC Artist Captures on Canvas the Color and Lore of the Coast|journal=Saturday Night|date=September 19, 1950|volume=65|number=49|page=24}} Sometimes these quick creations were later worked in oils.Salloum 2011, pp. 86–87. In her watercolours, Thornton preferred purples, pinks, greens, and blues.Salloum 2011, p. 84. Thornton painted totems in an impressionist style.Salloum 2011, p. 91. She was a friend of the photographer John Vanderpant, and she painted grain elevators in Vancouver inspired by his images.Salloum 2011, pp. 84–85. Her finished oils and watercolours were in the manner of the Group of Seven, with broad swathes of colour.{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Eve|title=Art with a story to tell|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=November 21, 1985|page=45|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100824555/art-with-a-story-to-tell-mildred/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509164559/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100824555/art-with-a-story-to-tell-mildred/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}Mildred Valley Thornton, FRSA (1890–1967), p. 10. Her style, according to Anthony Westbridge, has affinities with the Beaver Hall Group and the Emma Lake School.

The first impression frequently noted of her paintings is one of vivid colour, which often came almost straight from the tube.Salloum 2011, p. 96. Sometimes her bright colours alienated even sympathetic viewers. Apart from the hues, Thornton's paintings are more representational than Emily Carr, with whom she is often compared.

Thornton's output of First Nations portraits, arts, and lifestyles neared 400 pieces at the time of her death, but the collection was gradually dispersed afterwards.Ashwell 1979, p. 29.Salloum 2011, pp. 95–97. Followers of Thornton in regards to Indigenous representation include Patricia Richardson Logie and James Archibald Houston.Salloum 2011, p. 79. Many band councils have collected portraits of their ancestors. Working with the West Vancouver Museum and Archives, the Squamish people exhibited fourteen of Thornton's portraits in the 1999 show, Kw'achmixwáylh: Showing of the Pictures.Salloum 2011, 63–65. That same year saw Thornton inducted as an Honorary Member of the Canadian Portrait Academy, classifying her as one of Canada's top portrait artists of the twentieth century.Salloum 2011, p. 117. In 2003, the book Buffalo People: Portraits of a Vanishing Nation was published.{{Cite book|editor-last=Wilson|editor-first=Joyce M.|last=Hutchinson|first=Dave|title=Canadian Book Review Annual 2000|chapter=Book review: Buffalo People: Portraits of a Vanishing Race|location=Toronto|page=4217}} In 2011, a comprehensive account of the life and work of Mildred Valley Thornton by Sheryl Salloum was published through Mother Tongue Publishing.{{Cite journal|last=Ramlo|first=Erin|title=Book review: The Life and Art of Mildred Valley Thornton|journal=BC Studies|date=Winter 2012–13|pages=181–182}}

Thornton was nationally acclaimed in her lifetime, especially during the 1940s.Salloum 2011, pp. 89, 99. Gordon A. Smith thought her work was very good.Salloum 2011, p. 89. According to Gunter Heinrich, she had the ability to capture the essence of a person. However, in the 1950s younger artists who favoured abstraction began to see her art and views as outdated.Salloum 2011, pp. 106–107. The Vancouver Art Gallery only owns one painting by Thornton, a portrait of Willie Seaweed.Salloum 2011, p. 106.

Questions of whether Thornton exploited First Nations people and culture have been raised. Thornton has been charged with telling stories she wasn't privileged to tell, and framing issues differently than her subjects may have done. However, Thornton strived for mutual exchange and collaboration.Salloum 2011, p. 43. A 1985 show of Thornton's paintings at the Butler Galleries in Vancouver was described as "more historic than artistic interest," although some of the portraits were considered to have merit. A 2000 book review of Buffalo People: Portraits of a Vanishing Nation, noted that Thornton didn't insist on her subjects wearing traditional clothing, and that she had a genuine interest in the cultures she was chronicling. However, the reviewer found her tone detached and condescending, reminiscent of the poems of Duncan Campbell Scott, with their common focus on a dying way of life.

• Hotel Saskatchewan – Regina, 1930
• Hazen-Twiss store – Regina, 1933{{Cite news|title=Collection of Paintings by Regina Artist|newspaper=The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix|date=November 25, 1933|page=9|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100080746/mildred-valley-thornton-exhibit-in/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509165424/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100080746/mildred-valley-thornton-exhibit-in/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}
• Little Gallery – Seattle, 1940{{Cite news|title=City Artist's Work Praised in Seattle|newspaper=The Province|location=Vancouver|date=July 16, 1940|page=22|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101089071/city-artists-work-praised-in-seattle/|access-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509165625/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101089071/city-artists-work-praised-in-seattle/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}
• Hudson's Bay Company – Vancouver, 1941,{{Cite news|title=War Fund to Profit from Artist's Show|newspaper=The Province|location=Vancouver|date=April 2, 1941|page=11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101276052/war-fund-to-profit-from-artists-show/|access-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509165829/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101276052/war-fund-to-profit-from-artists-show/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} 1958{{Cite news|title=Sun Art Critic Exhibits Work|newspaper=The Vancouver Sun|date=July 8, 1958|page=17|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100816846/sun-art-critic-exhibits-work-mildred/|access-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509170030/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100816846/sun-art-critic-exhibits-work-mildred/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}
• Eaton's Fine Art Galleries – Toronto, 1941{{Cite news|title=City Artist's Work Praised in Toronto|newspaper=The Province|location=Vancouver|date=October 9, 1941|page=3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101278289/city-artists-work-praised-in-toronto/|access-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509170355/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101278289/city-artists-work-praised-in-toronto/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}
• Provincial Museum – Victoria, 1942{{Cite news|title=National Exhibit of Indian Portraits at Museum Monday|newspaper=Victoria Daily Times|date=November 14, 1942|page=18|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100785055/national-exhibit-of-indian-portraits-at/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509170606/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100785055/national-exhibit-of-indian-portraits-at/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }}
• Vancouver Art Gallery – 1936, 1942,Westbridge 2003, p. 64. 1949
• Commonwealth Institute – London, 1959, 1961
• Gallery of British Columbia Arts – Vancouver, 1980Newman 1990, p. 253.
• Butler Galleries – Vancouver, 1985
• Assiniboia Gallery – Saskatoon, 1989

• Canadian National Exhibition – 1931, 1932{{Cite book|title=Canadian Biographies: Artists and Authors|chapter="Mildred Valley Thornton|publisher=Canadian Library Association|date=1948}}
• Royal Canadian Academy of Arts – 1932,McMann 1981, p. 402. 1934,{{Cite news|title=Vancouver Artist has Two Canvases in Academy Show|newspaper=Vancouver Daily Province|date=November 17, 1934|page=16|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101278168/vancouver-artist-has-two-canvases-in/|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509170818/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101278168/vancouver-artist-has-two-canvases-in/|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com {{free access}} }} 1941
• Ontario Society of Artists – 1933Salloum 2011, p. 13.
• Art Association of Montreal – 1933McMann 1988, p. 375.
• Vancouver Art Gallery – 1958,{{Cite book|editor-last=Hume|editor-first=Robert M.|title=100 Years of B.C. Art: An Exhibition held at The Vancouver Art Gallery to commemorate the British Columbia Centennial Year|date=1958}} 2003, 2006, 2008Salloum 2011, pp. 36, 147.
• Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery – Regina, 1971{{Cite book|last=Dillow|first=Nancy E.|title=Saskatchewan: Art and Artists|date=1971|publisher=No publisher indicated|page=46}}
• Simon Fraser University Gallery – 1974Tippett 1974, p. 14.

• National Gallery of Canada{{Cite web|title=The Touchwood Hills|publisher=National Gallery of Canada|url=https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artwork/the-touchwood-hills|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312022619/https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artwork/the-touchwood-hills-0|archive-date=March 12, 2018|url-status=live}}
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection{{Cite web|title=Search: Thornton|website=McMichael Canadian Art Collection|url=http://collections.mcmichael.com/search/thornton|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509171501/http://collections.mcmichael.com/search/thornton|archive-date=May 9, 2022|url-status=live}}
• Glenbow Museum
• Vancouver Art Gallery
• British Columbia Parliament Buildings

{{Reflist|25em}}

• {{Cite journal|last=Ashwell|first=Reg|title=Mildred Valley Thornton|journal=Arts West|date=May–June 1979|volume=4|number=3|pages=29–31}}
• {{Cite book|last=MacDonald|editor-last=Newlands|editor-first=Anne|first=Colin S.|title=Dictionary of Canadian Artists|volume=8|publisher=Unpublished. Compiled by Anne Newlands from the research by Colin MacDonald and the artist file that is located at the National Gallery Library. Electronic copy available from the National Gallery Library and Archives|date=2008}}
• {{Cite book|last=McMann|first=Evelyn de R.|title=Royal Canadian Academy of Arts/Académie royale des arts du Canada: Exhibitions and Members 1880–1979|publisher=University of Toronto Press|location=Toronto|date=1981|page=402|isbn=0-8020-2366-5}}
• {{Cite book|last=McMann|first=Evelyn de R.|title=Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, formerly Art Association of Montreal: Spring Exhibitions 1880–1970|publisher=University of Toronto Press|location=Toronto|date=1988|isbn=0-8020-2650-8|page=375}}
• {{Cite book|title=Mildred Valley Thornton, FRSA (1890–1967): An Exhibition of Painting & Watercolours November 16th to December 8th, 1985|publisher=Butler Galleries|location=Vancouver|date=1985|pages=6–10}}
• {{Cite book|editor-last=Newman|editor-first=Marketa|title=Biographical Dictionary of Saskatchewan Artists: Women Artists|publisher=Fifth House Publishers|location=Saskatoon|date=1990|isbn=0-920079-66-0|volume=2|pages=252–254}}
• {{Cite book|last=Salloum|first=Sheryl|title=The Life and Art of Mildred Valley Thornton|publisher=Mother Tongue Publishing Limited|location=Saltspring Island, B.C.|date=2011|isbn=978-1-896949-05-5}}
• {{Cite book|last=Tippett|first=Maria|author-link1=Maria Tippett|title=Contemporaries of Emily Carr in British Columbia|publisher=Simon Fraser University|location=Burnaby, B.C.|date=1974|page=14}}
• {{Cite book |last=Watson |first=Scott |title=Vancouver: Art and Artists 1931–1983 |publisher=Vancouver Art Gallery |year=1983 |isbn=0-920095-00-3 |location=Vancouver |pages=73–74|chapter=Art in the Fifties: Design, Leisure, and Painting in the Age of Anxiety}}
• {{Cite book|editor1-last=Westbridge|editor1-first=Anthony R.|editor2-last=Bodnar|editor2-first=Diana L.|title=The Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction|volume=4|publisher=Westbridge Publications Ltd|location=Vancouver|date=2003|pages=63–64|isbn=0-9685907-3-X}}

• {{Cite book |last=Thornton |first=Mildred Valley |title=Indian Lives and Legends |publisher=Mitchell Press Limited |year=1966 |location=Vancouver}}
• {{Cite book |last=Thornton |first=Mildred Valley |title=Buffalo People: Portraits of a Vanishing Nation |publisher=Hancock House Publishers |year=2000 |isbn=0-88839-479-9 |location=Surrey, B.C.; Blaine, WA}}
• {{Cite book |last=Thornton |first=Mildred Valley |title=Potlatch People: Indian Lives & Legends of British Columbia |publisher=Hancock House Publishers |year=2003 |isbn=0-88839-491-8 |location=Surrey, B.C.; Blaine, WA}}

• {{Cite thesis|last=Evoy|first=Lara T.|title=Cross-cultural relationships : the work of Canadian artist Mildred Valley Thornton|publisher=Concordia University|date=1999|type=Master's Thesis|url=https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/915/}}

• [http://www.westbridge-fineart.com/auctions/bio.php?artistID=41&msclkid=3ccdd3e9cf2511ecbf09c54f0063868d Westbridge Fine Art Group] (representatives of the artist's estate)
• [http://www.pegasusgallery.ca/artist/Mildred_ValleyThornton.html Pegasus Gallery]: Mildred Valley Thornton (1890–1967)

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Mildred Valley}}

Category:1890 births

Category:1967 deaths

Category:20th-century Canadian painters

Category:OCAD University alumni

Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni

Category:20th-century Canadian women painters