George Paginton (December24, 1901December06, 1988) was a

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

painter.

Life and career

George Paginton was born in England, and in 1904, was designated a ward of the state and sent to an orphanage. In 1912, he was sent to Canada, to

Lindsay, Ontario Lindsay is a community of 22 367 people (2021 Canadian Census, 2021 census) on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes (Ontario), Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately west of Peterborough, Ontario, Peterboro ...

as a British Home Child. In 1919, he moved to Toronto, and found work as a freelance commercial artist working for various companies, including

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

. In 1927, he attended the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

summer school, in Port Hope, Ontario, studying with

J. W. Beatty J. W. Beatty (in full, John William Beatty) (1869–1941) was a Canadian painter who was a forerunner in the movement which became the Group of Seven (artists), Group of Seven in 1920. Early Painting Life image:John William Beatty - Ablain St- ...

. In the same year, he was hired by the

Toronto Daily Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...

in the art department, retiring in 1970. His first exhibition was in the New

Toronto Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pu ...

in 1931. His second show was held in the Robert Simpson Company`s art gallery in 1934, repeated with new work in 1936. Paginton also showed his work at the Art Association of Montreal and the Graphic Arts Society in Toronto and later, with the Canadian Society of Graphic Art. In 1965, his drawings and watercolours were shown at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto. He died in Toronto on December 6, 1988. In 2019, Paginton's work was shown posthumously in a retrospective organized with the help of his family titled ''George Paginton: Painting a Nation'' curated by Sharona Adamowicz-Clements and Darrin J. Martens for the

Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives The Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA) is a museum, art gallery, and archives for the Regional Municipality of Peel and are located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Previously, it was the Peel Heritage Complex. Its facilities were originally ...

in Brampton.

Art Work

George Paginton was a landscape artist, inspired by his teacher, J. W. Beatty, and by

Tom Thomson Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. His w ...

and 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 ...

. Like Beatty, Paginton was a believer in painting the Canadian scene, and his job providing illustrations for the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

gave him the opportunity to travel widely, and in doing so, to paint. His work is in a number of gallery collections such as the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the

Brampton, and the

Robert McLaughlin Gallery The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a public art gallery in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public art gallery in the Regional Municipality of Durham, of which Oshawa is a part. The gallery houses a significant collection of Canadian conte ...

, Oshawa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paginton, George 1901 births 1988 deaths Canadian landscape painters