Harold Town
Harold Town | |
---|---|
Born | Harold Barling Town June 13, 1924 Ontario College of Art |
Known for | Painter, printmaker, illustrator |
Movement | Painters Eleven |
Spouse | Trudie Carol Tredwell |
Harold Barling Town, OC D.Litt (June 13, 1924 – December 27, 1990) was a Canadian artist who worked in many different media, but is best known for his abstract paintings.[1]
He was a member of Painters Eleven, an abstract group of artists in Toronto (1954-1960). Town coined the name of the group, which was based simply on the number of artists that were present the first meeting.[2]
He also worked as an illustrator, a profession he credited with imparting a sense of discipline that would last throughout his entire artistic career.[3] His early illustrative appeared in magazines such as Maclean's and Mayfair.
Life and work
Harold Town was trained at
Gerta Moray in Harold Town: Life & Work described his collages as similar to his paintings, because in them he juxtaposed textures and fragments to startle the viewer.[3]
Town's work moved from a dark expressionist style to abstraction in vivid colours,[2] exploring a range of styles and media, using artistic traditions from other cultures to reflect his own experience.[3]
In the 1960s, Town developed colourful
Honours
In 1956 and 1964, Town and others represented Canada at the Venice Biennale.[7] He also exhibited at the São Paulo Art Biennial in 1957 (receiving the Arno Award[1]) and 1961.[4] He became an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1958.[8][9] York University granted him an honorary doctorate in 1966.[1] He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1968.[1][10]
Town had
In 1994, the Harold Town Conservation Area in Peterborough, Ontario was donated to Otonabee Conservation by Town's estate.[11]
Painters Eleven
In the late 1940s, Town joined Painters Eleven, but their early exhibitions were met with disdain.
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Harold Town". National Gallery of Canada. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- ^ a b c Fulford, "Introduction"
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4871-0026-1.
- ^ a b c Harold Town, The Canadian Encyclopedia, accessed August 29, 2019
- ^ "Collection". www.moma.org/. MoMA. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ Roald Nasgaard, Abstract Painting in Canada, p.104
- ^ "Venice Biennale". National Gallery of Canada. Archived from the original on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
- ^ McMann, Evelyn (1981). Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ^ "Members since 1880". Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ^ "Harold B. Town, O.C., D.Litt., A.R.C.A." Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- ^ "Harold Town Conservation Area".
- ^ Roald Nasgaard, Abstract Painting in Canada, p.92
- ^ Burnett and Schiff Contemporary Canadian Art, p. 46
- ^ a b Roald Nasgaard, Abstract Painting in Canada, p.96
- ^ Roald Nasgaard, Abstract Painting in Canada, p.91
Further reading
- Broad, Graham. "Art Shock in Toronto: Painters Eleven, The Shock of the New." The Beaver, Canada’s History Magazine Vol. 84:1 (2004).
- Burnett, David G. Town. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1986. ISBN 0-7710-1781-2
- Fulford, Robert. "Introduction." Magnificent Decade: The Art of Harold Town, 1955-1965. Toronto: The Moore Gallery, 1997.
- Moray, Gerta. Harold Town: Life and Work. Harold Town: Life & Work. Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2014. ISBN 978-1-4871-0026-1
- Nasgaard, Roald. Abstract Painting in Canada. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2008. ISBN 1-55365-394-7
- Withrow, William J. Contemporary Canadian Painting. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1972. ISBN 0-7710-9029-3
- Nowell, Iris. "Hot Breakfast For Sparrows: My Life With Harold Town," Toronto; Stoddart Publishing, 1992, ISBN 0-7737-2645-4
- Nowell, Iris. "Painters Eleven: The Wild Ones of Canadian Art," Vancouver: Doublas & McIntyre, 2010. ISBN 978-1-55365-590-9
External links
- Robert Fulford's essay on Harold Town
- CBC Radio interview with Harold Town
- Harold Town at The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, York University - Archival photographs of Harold Town from the Toronto Telegram fonds.
- Official Harold Town website
- Harold Town fonds (R5740) at Library and Archives Canada