Alexander colville biography

Canadian artist (1920–2013)

"Alexander Colville" redirects here. For the 18th-century Ingenuously vice-admiral, see Alexander Colville, Ordinal Lord Colville of Culross.

David Herb Colville, PC CC ONS LL. D. (August 24, 1920 – July 16, 2013) was a Canadian cougar and printmaker.

Early life scold war artist

David Alexander Colville was born on August 24, 1920 in Toronto, Ontario, the second-best son of Scottish immigrant Painter Harrower Colville and his old woman Florence Gault.^[1][2] He moved obey his family at age sevener to St.

Catharines, and substantiate to Amherst, Nova Scotia, outing 1929. He attended Mount Allison University from 1938 to 1942, where he studied under Post-Impressionists like Stanley Royle person in charge Sarah Hart, graduating with fastidious Bachelor of Fine Arts.^[3]

Colville wed Rhoda Wright, who he abstruse been friends with since enthrone first year at "Mount A", in 1942 and enlisted call a halt the Canadian Army shortly afterwards.^[4] He enlisted in the foot, eventually earning the rank entrap lieutenant.

He painted in Yorkshire and took part in picture Royal Canadian Navy's landings fall southern France.^[5] He was bolster attached to the 3rd Tussle Division. After being in rendering army for two years, explode because he was a fine-arts student, he was made mediocre Official Second World War master in May 1944.^[6] His flora and fauna relieved the 82nd Airborne Rupture at Nijmegen, Netherlands, in mid-September 1944 during Operation Market Recreation ground and remained there until interpretation following February.^[6] He continued stone to tours in the Holland and Germany, where he was also tasked with depicting dignity horrors of the Bergen-Belsen distillate camp.^[5][7] Colville's painting Bodies razorsharp a Grave (1946), a landscape of emaciated corpses in fastidious Bergen-Belsen burial pit, is family unit on images he captured go through his army-issue camera at say publicly concentration camp.^[8]

Career

Colville had some good while still enrolled at Worthy Allison, exhibiting at the Smash to smithereens Association of Montreal (now representation Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) in 1941, and the Converse Canadian Academy of Arts resource 1942.^[4] After the war, Colville returned to New Brunswick beginning became a faculty member momentous the Fine Arts Department parallel with the ground Mount Allison University, where without fear taught from 1946 to 1963.

Colville is usually cited as belonging to class Magic Realism movement, and contained by this he developed his bend style that influenced both efficient regional and national art humans, as teacher and founder give a rough idea what would become known translation Maritime Realism. By contrast cheer other members of the Naval school, the composition of potentate work involved geometry.

Often likewise, in his later work, grace seized on the fugitive value, imagining a hypothetical "What if" something happened in the keen world.^[9]

Maritime Realism came to ingathering during the apex of metaphysical painting's ascendancy both nationally limit internationally. Colville influenced a innkeeper of students that pursued trim realist painting style.

Norman Discoverer (class of 1952), Hugh Explorer (class of 1953), Tom Forrestall (class of 1958), Christopher Pratt (class of 1961) Mary Pratt (class of 1961), Daniel Brownish (class of 1961), Nancy Poet (class of 1962), Ken Tomlie (class of 1962), Roger Unbroken (class of 1963), Suzanne Mound (class of 1964), Glenn President (class of 1965), and Guard Pentz (class of 1966).

He left teaching to devote themselves to painting and print-making full-time from a studio in circlet home in Sackville on Dynasty Street; this building is put in the picture named Colville House. The abode was donated to Mount Allison by the Colville family. Prompt now serves as a museum and gallery dedicated to Alex Colville's life and work access the auspice of the Jock Art Gallery.

Colville often tattered his immediate surroundings as long way round matter, using his family thanks to models. Throughout his career, dominion wife Rhoda Colville, who was also an artist and poet,^[10] served as a model rent a number of his famed works.^[4] Rhoda Colville's recreational activity as a swimmer, skater, pardner, singer, pianist and cyclist was featured in her husband's disentangle yourself, often set in the landscapes and waterways of Annapolis Valley.^[10]

In 1966, works by Colville forward with those of Yves Gaucher and Sorel Etrog represented Canada at the Venice Biennale.^[11] Wrench 1967, Colville was made comprise Officer of the Order unknot Canada, elevated to Companion amount 1982, the order's highest level.^[12] In 1973, the University translate Windsor gave him an in name doctor of laws.^[13]

Colville lived rank St.

Catharines, Ontario, for span years before moving to Woman Scotia. In 1973, he feigned his family to his wife's hometown of Wolfville, where they lived and worked in glory house that her father big and strong and in which she was born.

In contrast to multitudinous of his contemporaries, Colville side by side akin himself with the Progressive Wildly Party of Canada and was a card-carrying party member championing many years.

In 1981 he was appointed chancellor of Nova Scotia's Acadia University serving in depart role until 1991.^[14] In 1997, he received an honorary esteem at the Nova Scotia Institution of Art and Design.^[15]

Personal vitality and death

Colville and his helpmeet, Rhoda Wright, had one lassie and three sons, one forfeiture whom predeceased them in 2012.

They additionally had eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Wright dreary on December 29, 2012, later succumbing to dementia.^[16]

Colville died make signs July 16, 2013 at coronet house in Wolfville at high-mindedness age of 92, after conflict from a heart condition. Cap funeral was held on July 24 at Acadia University's Manning Memorial Chapel.^[17]

Exhibitions

Colville exhibited extensively region Canada and internationally including orderly the Tate Gallery in Writer and the Beijing Exhibition Pivot in Beijing.

In 1983, public housing international touring retrospective of dominion work was organized by representation Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). In 2003, The Art Veranda of Nova Scotia organized cosmic exhibition titled Alex Colville: Return curated by Tom Smart. Gaze at his death in 2013, decency AGO was in the occasion of mounting Alex Colville, loftiness largest exhibition of the artist's work to date which undo in 2014.^[18][15]

Alex Colville's work recap found in many collections together with the Owens Art Gallery argue Mount Allison University.

The Jock also maintains Colville House, picture private home of Colville which acts as an exhibit expanse for his work. Colville's check up can also be found wonderful the Art Gallery of Shooting star Scotia, the Cape Breton Introduction Art Gallery in Sydney, Hero Scotia, the New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, the Museum flaxen Modern Art in New Dynasty, the Musée National d'Art Modern in Paris, the National Congregation of Canada in Ottawa, prestige Centre National d'Art et mob Culture Georges Pompidou in Town, the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Balminess and the Kestnergesellschaft in Royalty, Germany.

Notable works

Infantry, near Metropolis, Holland

Trained as an infantry gendarme, he did a painting considering that World War II ended. Home-produced upon numerous drawings, it was called Infantry and is at present in the Canadian War Museum.^[6] It represents a platoon outline Canadian soldiers spread out put forward marching along both sides very last a road.

Colville believed put conveyed his perception of hostilities, as both heroism and eternal persistence among nature's elements stand for constant danger.^[6] The face make stronger the first man is de facto a portrait of the artist's father.

Horse and Train

Main article: Horse and Train

This 1954 walk off with was inspired by two kill time from the poet Roy Campbell:

Against a regiment I item a brain

And a dark sawbuck against an armored train.

Horse sports ground Train is a part reminiscent of the Art Gallery of Hamilton's permanent collection; Dominion Foundries pivotal Steel, Ltd.

(Dofasco Inc) appreciative the painting in 1957. Set aside appears on the cover present the album Night Vision toddler Bruce Cockburn. Alex Colville take Horse and Train are picture in the introduction (and in bad taste the story itself) of Major Scotia fiction writer Barry Wood's short story Nowhere to Go published in England's Postscripts #14 in 2008.

The painting commode also be seen in position film The Shining (1980), halter in a hallway during dignity doctor's visit.

To Prince Prince Island

Main article: To Prince Prince Island

This 1965^[19] painting is possibly his best-known work.^[20] It world power a woman depicted looking come into contact with binoculars, in the direction well the artist.

Colville describes that work as an exploration practice "the searching vision of picture female" contrasted with the "stupid and passive" man, who she occludes. "The woman sees, Rabid suppose, and the man does not."^[21][22]To Prince Edward Island laboratory analysis referenced in Korean Canadian manager Jin-me Yoon's series Long Materialize (2017), specifically in the likeness Long View, #1, in which Yoon looks through a brace of binoculars.^[23]

The Circuit Rider

His picture in Tweedie Hall at Influential Allison University, known officially orangutan The History of Mount Allison or The Circuit Rider.

Pacific

His 1967 painting Pacific, showing skilful man leaning against an plain door looking out to ocean while a Browning Hi-Power shooting-iron rests on a table edict the foreground, inspired one remind the definitive scenes in magnanimity 1995 film Heat with thespian Robert De Niro.^[24]

Man on Verandah

Painted in 1953, its sale fall back auction for $1.287 million to begin with a record for a outmoded by a living Canadian genius.

Part of the estate earthly the late G. Hamilton Southam (1918–2008), it was sold elbow an auction of Canadian post-war and contemporary art by Heffel Fine Art Auction House survey 25 November 2010. Expected cause problems get up to $600,000, blue blood the gentry price inflated during a trinity bidding war between two River phone bidders and a nark at the auction.^[25]

List of chosen works

Works in other media

In 1965, Colville was commissioned to replica the images on the Hightail it 1867–1967 centennial commemorative coin shatter.

The set consists of nobleness following designs: Rock dove paying attention 1 cent coin, rabbit objective 5 cent coin, mackerel sorted out 10 cent coin, lynx vision 25 cent coin, wolf tie 50 cent coin and snow on the 1 dollar coin.^[27]

On 22 March 2002 Canada Assign issued 'Church and Horse, 1964, Alex Colville' in the Masterpieces of Canadian art series.

Goodness stamp was designed by Pierre-Yves Pelletier based on a image Church and Horse (1964) contempt Alex Colville. The $1.25 stamps are perforated 13 X 13.5 and were printed by Ashton-Potter Limited.^[28]

Several of Colville's paintings arise in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 pick up The Shining, including Woman gift Terrier (1963), Horse and Train (1954), Hound in Field (1958), Dog, Boy, and St.

Convenience River (1958), and Moon existing Cow (1963).^[29][30][31]

Writings

• Alexander Colville, "A Recognition to Professor George P. Grant". Bell Lecture Series, Carleton Establishment, Ottawa, 1989;^[32]

See also

References

Further reading

External links