James Meechan (born 17 August 1930) is a Scottish-Canadian artist best known for his

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

work.

Biography

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Meechan attended Holyrood Secondary School before moving on to the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

where he specialised in stained glass. He received commissions for windows from a number of churches in Scotland. In 1953, he emigrated to Canada, settling in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He married Kay Hanlon in 1954. Meechan received more window commissions from churches in Canada. To supplement his earnings from stained glass, and to support a growing family, he qualified as a secondary school teacher in the province of Ontario. For a number of years he worked at

Central Technical School Central Technical School (CTS or Central Tech) is a Canadian composite high school in Toronto, Ontario. The school is run by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB); before 1998, it was run by the Toronto Board of Education (TBE). Central Tech ...

, alongside Canadian artist

Doris McCarthy Doris McCarthy, LL. D. (July 7, 1910 – November 25, 2010) was a Canadian artist known for her abstracted landscapes. Life and career Born in Calgary, Alberta, McCarthy attended the Ontario College of Art from 1926 to 1930, where she was award ...

. Meechan played a key role in the students' creation of the colossal ketchup bottle in 1967, built to poke fun at Claes Oldenburg's giant hamburger which was then on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Most of Meechan's career as a teacher was spent at C. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute, where he was the Head of the Art Department from 1970, when the school was established, until 1986. Meechan continued to receive commissions for stained glass windows after that time. The subjects of his windows, understandably, have usually been religious. The subjects of his watercolours, however, have often included the shore of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

near

Southampton, Ontario Southampton is a community on the shores of Lake Huron in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada, and close to Port Elgin. It is located at the mouth of the Saugeen River in the Saugeen Ojibway Nation Territory. The size of the town is 6.44 square kilome ...

. James Meechan is a Life Member of the Ontario Society of Artists, having joined in 1966. meechan j resurrection stainedglass

References

1930 births Living people Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Artists from Glasgow 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 21st-century Canadian painters Canadian stained glass artists and manufacturers People educated at Holyrood Secondary School 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists {{Canada-artist-stub