Edward John Hughes D.F.A., D.Litt. (February 17, 1913 – January 5, 2007) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, known for his images of the land and sea in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Early career

Hughes was born in North Vancouver,

, Canada, and spent a significant part of his childhood in

Nanaimo, British Columbia Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...

. Raised during the Depression, he studied at the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Art where he graduated in 1933. His talent was recognized early. One of his teachers was

Frederick Varley Frederick Horsman Varley (January 2, 1881 – September 8, 1969) was a member of the Canadian Group of Seven. Career Early life Varley was born in Sheffield, England, in 1881, the son of Lucy (Barstow) and Samuel James Smith Varley the 7th. He ...

of the

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...

, and another member,

Lawren Harris Lawren Stewart Harris LL. D. (October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970) was a Canadian painter, best known as a leading member of the Group of Seven. He played a key role as a catalyst in Canadian art and as a visionary in Canadian landscape art. ...

, recommended him for the inaugural

Emily Carr Emily Carr (or M. Emily Carr as she sometimes signed her work) (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to ado ...

Scholarship in 1947. In 1934, he formed a partnership with the muralist Paul Goranson and Orville Fisher in a commercial art firm.

World War II

When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began in 1939, he enlisted with the

Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/The ...

as a gunner and was posted to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. From 1943 to 1946, he served as one of Canada's official war artists. Hughes traveled to England and Alaska where he depicted ordinary men caught up in this worldwide event. He produced well over a thousand drawings, many watercolours, oil sketches and almost 30 paintings. One curator calls his work between 1940 and 1946 for the Canadian war records perhaps the "most significant body of work by a Canadian artist in the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in a ...

Post-War period

After being discharged from the military in 1946, he returned to the west coast of Canada with his wife Fern and settled in Shawnigan Lake on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

, at first concentrated on waterfront subjects near his home. Hughes spent much of the remainder of his life living on Vancouver Island where he pursued a lifelong study of the province and its landscape as a professional artist. In the 1950s, Hughes' reputation grew, especially after he signed an exclusive contract to sell all his work to Dr. Max Stern, the owner of the Dominion Gallery in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 1951. Stern encouraged him to expand his range of subject matter. In 1954, he was one of eighteen Canadian artists commissioned by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

to paint a

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

for the interior of one of the new Park cars entering service on the new ''

'' transcontinental train. Each of the murals depicted a different national or provincial park; Hughes' was

Tweedsmuir Provincial Park Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park is a provincial park covering parts of the eastern Kitimat Ranges, northern Pacific Ranges, and the Rainbow Range in British Columbia, Canada. It was established on May 21, 1938 in the western interior of the pro ...

. In 1992,

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

used one of his images ("Christie Pass, Hurst Island, B,C.") on a stamp commemorating 125 years of

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. Hughes died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

in Duncan, BC at the age of 93.

Legacy

Hughes' paintings are best known for their strong and appealing images of the landscape and seascape of

Jack Shadbolt Jack Leonard Shadbolt, (February 4, 1909 November 22, 1998) was a Canadian painter. Early life Born in Shoeburyness, England, Shadbolt came to Canada with his parents in April 1911. He was raised in Victoria, British Columbia. He studied at t ...

described Hughes as "the most engaging intuitive painter of the BC landscape since

." His distinctive style of painting is marked by the use of flattened space, skewed perspective, and simplified shapes. The paintings combine compelling clarity with a sense of the unknown and an appreciation for his natural surroundings. His sources are many, among them

Jan Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

, his favorite artist, and the Mexican muralists, such as

Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...

. Hughes was elected to the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

in 1969. Hughes was awarded with Honorary Doctorates from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

in 1994 and the

Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co ...

in 1997. In 2001, he received the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

and, in 2005, he was awarded the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

. Both of these awards cited his dedication to representing Canada with passion and originality. The

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Franc ...

has the most extensive holding of Hughes' work in public hands and mounted a major

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...

exhibition in 2003, curated by

Ian M. Thom Ian M. Thom (born 1952) is a Canadian curator, author, and art historian, well known for his exhibitions and major catalogues and books on Canadian Art and international art. In his 30-year duration (broken twice by appointments elsewhere) at the ...

. His painting ''Lake Okanagan'' was purchased at a rural

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

yard sale A garage sale (also known as a yard sale, tag sale, moving sale and by many other namesSome rarely used names include "attic sale," "basement sale," "rummage sale," "thrift sale," "patio sale," "lawn sale," and "jumble sale".) is an informal ...

for C$200. Six years later, in 2007, the purchaser sold it at auction for $402,500. In November 2018, his painting ''Fishboats, River Inlet'' sold for $2,041,250 CDN (premium included) at the Heffel Auction.

Books

* ''E. J. Hughes'', by Ian M. Thom (Senior curator, Vancouver Art Gallery). A 226-page hardcover book published by Douglas & McIntyre and the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2002. . This book was the catalogue for the E. J. Hughes exhibition which was seen at the

and later at the

McMichael Canadian Art Collection The McMichael Canadian Art Collection (MCAC) is an art museum in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located on a property in Kleinburg, an unincorporated village in Vaughan. The property includes the museum's main building, a sculpture garde ...

in Kleinburg, Ontario, and the

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) is an art museum located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Situated in Rockland, Victoria, the museum occupies a building complex; made up of the Spencer Mansion, and the Exhibition Galleries. The ...

.
''A Journey with E.J. Hughes''
By Jacques Barbeau, 2005 180-page hardcover, Douglas & McIntyre.
E.J. Hughes: The Man and His Art
by Jane G. Cole (Art Professor, Vancouver Island University), 2009 Nanaimo Art Gallery. 32-page paperback. This biography was published to coincide with th
release of a number of Giclée prints
from the Estate of E.J. Hughes.
''EJ Hughes Paints Vancouver Island''
by Robert Amos (2018), 204-page hardcover book published by TouchWood Editions. The book was a finalist for the 2019 BC and Yukon Book Prize and the 2019 Victoria Book Prize.
''E. J. Hughes Paints British Columbia''
by Robert Amos (2019), 204-page hardcover book published by TouchWood Editions.
''The E.J. Hughes Book of Boats''
by Robert Amos (2020), 88-page hardcover book publisher by TouchWood Editions.

Film

''E.J. Hughes Restoration: Triumph over hard times''," is a 2009 HD documentary on the life of EJ Hughes and the restoration of his Malaspina mural, a large 9x12 foot work of art now worth over 4 million dollars. The documentary was nominated for a Leo Award, and won a Gold Remi from the Huston International Film festival.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Official site
retrieved on 15 May 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, E. J. 1913 births 2007 deaths Canadian male painters Artists from British Columbia Landscape artists Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of British Columbia People from Nanaimo People from North Vancouver Emily Carr University of Art and Design alumni Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 20th-century Canadian male artists 20th-century Canadian painters 21st-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian painters Canadian muralists