Jack Leonard Shadbolt, (February 4, 1909 November 22, 1998) 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.

Early life

Born in Shoeburyness,

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 ...

, Shadbolt came to Canada with his parents in April 1911. He was raised in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

. He studied at the Art Students' League in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

(1948) and in London (1937) and Paris (1938). From 1928 to 1937, he taught in high schools in

Duncan, British Columbia Duncan (pop. 5,047 in 2021) is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city by area (2.07 square kilometres, 0.8 square miles) in Canada. It was incorporated in 1912. Location The city is about 45 kilo ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

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, ...

. Starting in 1938, he taught and studied with

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 ...

at the

Vancouver School of Art 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 ...

. He married Doris Meisel in 1945 and the couple moved to

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

, a suburb of Vancouver, in 1950.

War artist

In 1942, during

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 opposing ...

, Jack Shadbolt enlisted in the army. He was transferred in 1945 to London, where he served as an administrative officer for the official Canadian

War Art Military art is art with a military subject matter, regardless of its style or medium. The battle scene is one of the oldest types of art in developed civilizations, as rulers have always been keen to celebrate their victories and intimidate po ...

Program.

Later years

After the war, Shadbolt returned to his faculty position at the

(VSA). When he retired in 1966, he was the head of painting and drawing section. He devoted more time to painting.Reid, p. 365. In 1987, Shadbolt and his wife founded the Vancouver Institute for the Visual Arts, a charitable foundation to provide grants to individuals in support of their artistic endeavours. The foundation was later renamed The Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Recognition

In 1956, works by Shadbolt along with those of

Louis Archambault Louis Archambault (April 4, 1915 – January 27, 2003) was a Quebec sculptor and ceramicist, who was one of the members of the "new sculpture" movement in Canada that moved away from traditional methods towards abstraction. Career Born in M ...

and

Harold Town Harold Barling Town, (June 13, 1924 – December 27, 1990) was a Canadian abstract painter. He is best known as a member of Painters Eleven a group of abstract artists active in Toronto from 1954-1960. Town coined the name of the ...

represented Canada at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. In 1972, he was made an Officer of 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 cen ...

. In 1990, 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 ...

. Throughout his life, Shadbolt continued to advance the boundaries of his art. On 24 August 2001 Canada Post issued 'The Space Between Columns #21 (Italian), 1965, Jack Shadbolt' in the Masterpieces of Canadian art series. The stamp was designed by Pierre-Yves Pelletier based on an oil painting "'The Space Between Columns #21 (1965) by Jack Shadbolt. The $1.05 stamps are perforated 13 X 13.5 mm and were printed by Ashton-Potter Limited. The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts located at

Deer Lake Park Deer Lake is a lake in central Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Deer Lake is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna and features a number of walking trails. These trails connect the lake and its surrounding forests and fields to a number of am ...

was named after Jack Shadbolt and offers performing and visual arts programs for people of all ages as well as facilitates

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

examinations.

Selected works

* 1961 — ''Villa in the Countryside'' * 1963 — ''Bush Pilot in Northern Sky'', mural at

Edmonton International Airport Edmonton International Airport, as of August 29, 2022, officially branded YEG Edmonton International Airport is the primary air passenger and air cargo facility in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of the Canadian province of Alberta. Designat ...

* 1968 — ''In Search of Form'' * 1970 — ''Miracle Of Birds'' * 1970 — ''Man Of Symbol'' * 1970 — ''Night Fears'' * 1971 — ''Adjustable Venus'' * 1971-1972 — ''To Old Gardens'' * 1972 — ''Guardian'' * 1972 — ''Little Wolf'' * 1972 — ''Little Bride'' * 1972 — ''Daughter Of Chiefs'' * 1972 — ''Ritual Of The Arrow'' * 1972 — ''World Behind'' * 1972 — ''Place'' * 1973 — ''Mind's I'' * 1973 — ''The Way In'' * 1973 — ''Lost World'' * 1974 — ''Mystery Of Flower'' * 1974 — ''Bride'' * 1974 — ''Galaxy'' * 1974 — ''Sinbad's Voyages'' * 1974 — ''Transformations No. 3'' * 1976 — ''Variation On A Kwakiutl Ghost Mask'' * 1976 — ''India Suite'' * 1976 — ''Transformations No. 5'' * 1976-1977 — ''Lodi Gardens'' * 1976-1977 — ''Morning East'' * 1977 — ''Trees And Rock'' * 1977 — ''Erotic Landscape'' * 1977 — ''Dark Landscape'' * 1977 — ''Classic Landscape'' * 1977 — ''Mountain Summer (End Flight)'' * 1977 — ''For Vladimir'' * 1977 — ''Sea Edge Nocturne'' * 1977 — ''High Country Event'' * 1977 — ''High Range Country'' * 1977 — ''Event On The Rocks'' * 1981 — ''Act of Art''

References

Bibliography

* Reid, Dennis R. (1988). ''A Concise History of Canadian Painting.'' Toronto: Oxford University Press. ;
OCLC 18378555
* Lindberg, Ted. ''Jack Shadbolt : Seven Years.'' Vancouver Art Gallery, 1978.

External links

Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts

Jack Shadbolt: Works from the Collection of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery