Hans Karl Hesse, known in later life as Carle Hessay (30 November 1911 - 1 January 1978),McMann 2003, p. 101.Hilmo, in Woods 2005, p. v. was a German-born Canadian painter. Although much remains uncertain of his early years, he immigrated to Canada in 1927, and later studied at art academies in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Hessay served as a Canadian soldier in

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 ...

. After the establishment of peace, he moved to

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, ...

, eventually settling in the town of

Langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...

, where he took up art again in the 1950s. Some of his early paintings were done in the manner of

Romantic realism Romantic realism is art that combines elements of both romanticism and realism. The terms "romanticism" and "realism" have been used in varied ways, and are sometimes seen as opposed to one another. In literature and art The term has long standing ...

. The influence of Expressionism soon became significant, with Hessay drawing on both the European and American movements, together with aspects of

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 ...

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 officiall ...

. He painted landscapes throughout his artistic life, as well as cityscapes, the Spanish Civil War, Biblical prophecy, and conceptions of the far future. A sizable fraction of his output consisted of abstract pieces. Over time, Hessay's depictions grew more symbolic, one commentator describing his late work as "brazenly metaphysical and apocalyptic".White, 18 Jun 1980.Woods 2005, p. 25. He often made his own pigments, and his style is distinguished by his use of colour, especially black. In 2014, a group of Canadian writers published poems based on his small abstracts. Hessay was the subject of a 2017 documentary film and art exhibition at 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 insti ...

Early life

Hessay was born as Hans Karl Hesse in

, Germany, on 30 November 1911. Accounts of the first few decades of his life are sometimes contradictory.Hilmo 2023, p. 7. He immigrated to Canada in 1927. Having begun painting at the age of fourteen, he returned to Europe and received an extensive art education at academies in Dresden and Paris."Carle Hessay has painted for 51 years", 27 Apr 1977. Hessay later left Germany to travel the world as a commercial mariner for many years, rising to the position of second mate. His first glimpse of

occurred at Port Alberni, when his ship arrived to load lumber. Impressed by the climate, he wanted to record the geography, sea, and rocks of the area.Anderson, 22 Dec 2006."Carle Hessay show at arts centre", 27 April 1977. Hessay fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

for a short period. In 1938, he arrived back in Canada,MacDonald 1979, addendum. and went on to serve in the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

as a corporal in the

Royal Canadian Engineers The Canadian Military Engineers (CME; french: links=no, Génie militaire canadien) is the military engineering personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. The members of the branch that wear army uniform comprise the Corps of Royal Canadian Engi ...

.Woods 2005, p. 21.

British Columbia

Hessay's first home in British Columbia after WWII was a shanty on Passage Island. In spite of being impaired by

posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats ...

, he took up the life of a commercial fisherman.Hilmo 2014, p. xi. In 1950, Hessay moved to

, a town in the

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...

. He soon met Langley resident Leonard A. Woods, a former student of

LeMoine FitzGerald Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald D.F.A., also known as L. L. FitzGerald (March 17, 1890 – August 5, 1956) was a Canadian artist and art educator. He was the only member of the Group of Seven based in western Canada. He worked almost exclusively in Manit ...

, and a multi-talented sculptor, musician, poet, and art historian. At the time of their first meeting, Woods was reopening the sculpture department 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 ...

. In a later recollection, Woods described Hessay as being "in a very critical condition, mentally and physically". The pair became life-long friends, and Hessay valued Woods' encouragement within a loosely knit artistic circle that included the painter

Peter Ewart Peter Ewart (14 May 1767 – 15 September 1842) was a British engineer who was influential in developing the technologies of turbines and theories of thermodynamics. Biography He was son of the Church of Scotland minister of Troqueer near D ...

, along with John McTaggart, an art teacher at Langley High School."Fort pupils react to art display", 11 June 1964. In Langley, he opened up a sign shop, in the days when signs were still made by hand. Hessay lived in a rear curtained-off area, his furnishings consisting of a cot, hot plate, and table and chairs.Hilmo, in Woods 2005, p. iii.Woods 2005, p. 3. When he returned to creating art in the early 1950s, these spartan accommodations doubly functioned as a studio. According to Woods, "paintings were everywhere". On weekends, he often closed his shop to travel to the

Fraser Canyon The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser ...

and the British Columbia interior, where he panned for gold. Hessay once had a prospector's shack near the Old Alexandra Bridge, in the vicinity of

Spuzzum Spuzzum is an unincorporated settlement in British Columbia, Canada. Because it is on the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately north of the community of Hope, it is often referred to as being "beyond Hope". Environment Spuzzum lies in a constrict ...

.Hilmo, in Woods 2005, p. i.Woods 2005, p. 9. He enjoyed visiting First Natiions reserves, where he found social acceptance.Youssef, 25 Dec 2005. His artistic output was initially reflective of his European training. Aware of experiments taking place in New York and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, he began to produce many works of pure or semi-abstraction, alongside his landscapes inspired by the British Columbia wilderness. A member of the

Federation of Canadian Artists The Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) is an association of artists in Canada founded in Toronto in 1941. The FCA soon had chapters across the country, and was one of the main forces behind formation of the Canada Council in 1957. After this, the ...

, he participated in group exhibits, displayed at local art galleries, and had one-man shows in British Columbia and elsewhere. Hessay died of a heart attack on 1 January 1978 while attending a New Year's dance at the Sasquatch Inn in Spuzzum. He is buried at Langley Lawn Cemetery.

Artistry

Painting materials and technique

Hessay commonly experimented with mixed media.Woods 2005, p. vii. Having an interest in the chemistry of painting, he often made his own pigments from minerals and resins gathered on his prospecting trips. Black was derived from grinding

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

.Thorpe, 11 December 1971. He also employed cooked fruits and vegetables, such as onion-skin dyes, potato water, and carrots.Gleeson, 25 Nov 1976. Further materials included egg white and house paint. His canvases were prepared with fifteen coats of gesso ground made according to his own formula. In the manner of

action painting Action painting, sometimes called "gestural abstraction", is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting work often emphasizes the physical a ...

, Hessay frequently painted in a free and vigorous manner, spilling and dragging pigments over one another.Woods 2005, p. 5.Hooper, 11 May 2017. One of his paintings was done with a toothbrush.

Style

His early paintings from the late 1950s were in the style of

, one critic describing them as "pretty but not sentimental". From his Dresden background, he retained the aesthetic qualities of the German

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

painters

Emil Nolde Emil Nolde (born Hans Emil Hansen; 7 August 1867 – 13 April 1956) was a German-Danish painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and was one of the first oil painting and watercolor painters of th ...

Max Beckmann Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 27, 1950) was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement. In the 1920s ...

, and Franz Marc.Woods 2005, p. 21. He appreciated

First Nations art Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present. These include works from South America and North America, which includes ...

, admiring the Kwakwaka'wakw artist

Mungo Martin Chief Mungo Martin or ''Nakapenkem'' (lit. ''Potlatch chief "ten times over"''), ''Datsa'' (lit. ''"grandfather"''), was an important figure in Northwest Coast style art, specifically that of the Kwakwaka'wakw Aboriginal people who live in the a ...

, and he knew

Bill Reid William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) (Haida) was a Canadian artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year career, Reid ...

.Hilmo, in Woods 2005, p. ii. Hessay's aim in painting was to create a "new, original experience", and his paintings typically emote drama and intensity of feeling, rather than lyricism.Woods 2005, p. 31. Many contain a predominance of strongly contrasting shapes and angles. He characteristically used colour to register a dominant emotional tone, reinforcing the thematic content. Hessay considered black to be his trademark as a painter.Woods 2005, p. 27. The monochrome ochre and setting of ''Abandoned Village'', a painting from his ''Cabins to Cities'' series, recalls the mood of

's ''Blunden Harbour''. At times his landscapes have parallels to those of the

.Hooper, 6 Oct 2016. Some of his works lack any reference points, and fit comfortably within the history of Abstract expressionism. Other semi-abstract pieces are infused with hints of nature, commonly oriented by a feature which directs the viewer's perception. Several abstracts relate to his prospecting in their evocation of rock formations.

Themes

Hessay's paintings reference a wide spectrum of contemporary and historical material, ranging from the modern city, to scenes inspired by mythology and the Bible, the horrors of war, futuristic visions, and the place of humanity within nature. He liked his pictures to tell a story, but preferred to leave their interpretation up to the viewer. When asked once if his paintings were symbolic, he replied, "of course they are". The artist's landscapes frequently place the observer squarely within the midst of an untamed wilderness, in the deadfall of roots and tree trunks, the chaos of fallen rocks, a great depth of snow, or the center of a great swamp.Woods 2005, p. 23. Some indirectly represent the destructive forces of history, as seen in a fairly literal view of

Mount Baker Mount Baker (Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount ...

in ''From Here to Eternity'', with its overall pink ground colour; or the enameled hues of the large ''Magenta Fire''. As a consequence of witnessing injustice and cruelty, he had a penchant for painting flames. His landscapes often contain signs or remains of human dwellings: forgotten logging camps, a prospector's shack, derelict habitations. Many paintings demonstrate his love of nature, illustrated by ''Above the Yalakom'', with its fluid design of trees and slopes.Woods 2005, p. 11. In 1967, he created a six by nine foot mural, a depiction of a waterfall cascading from a mountain lake, for the Langley Evangelical Free Church. In Woods' view, Hessay drew on his childhood learning steeped in the Bible, and the mural reinterprets Mount Lebanon, the Sea of Galilee, and the

River Jordan The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

in a Canadian context. His last painting, the peaceful landscape ''Break of Day'', completed in 1977, is atypical among those of his final decade, with its use of soft harmonies and rounded contours. Hessay sometimes used religious allusions as metaphors illustrating the conditions that threaten modern society. The ''Number of Man'' refers to the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

, and its complex montage of sinister apparitions and skulls is deliberately obscure.Woods 2005, p. 29. Various late works are shamanistic and metaphysical, such as the sacral ''Wake for a Shuswap''. This 1971 painting depicts a Secwepemc First Nations memorial taking place around a fire, the participants saturated in bright reds and blues, enveloped by the blackness of night.Woods 2005, p. 13. A few of his canvases record his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, seen in ''La Pasionaria (''

Dolores Ibárruri Isidora Dolores Ibárruri Gómez (; 9 December 189512 November 1989), also known as (English: "the Passionflower"), was a Spanish Republican politician of the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 and a communist known for her slogan ''¡No Pasará ...

'') at the Jarama River''."Escape Artist", 2006. Other war scenes are based on Biblical prophecy or classical history. His ambivalence towards urban centres is captured in a small number of cityscapes, shown by ''The Great City'', in which his crystalline treatment contrasts with the rubble-strewn setting at the base of an arched viaduct.Woods 2005, p. 19. As part of a

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the fede ...

Explorations project, he created a series of futuristic paintings entitled ''The Hollow World'', destined for the Vancouver Planetarium, but never exhibited in his lifetime. Imaginatively beginning in the year 3000 A.D., they reveal how civilization might unfold, when engineering feats could make possible the creation of new worlds.

Personal life

Hessay taught himself gymnastics by training on poles attached to two trees, and a 1943 letter of reference from the Canadian Armed Forces described him as an "all-around apparatus man", and being a capable instructor. Even in his sixties, he liked to entertain by doing handstands, and perform diving feats.Chamberlain, 28 Feb 2014. Hessay believed that music, which he studied in his youth, was the highest art form, and he played the piano well. At the Lion's Club and the

Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...

, his music often paid for his supper, and he liked to listen to operas while painting. Self-educated in many ways, Hessay had an excellent knowledge of science, mythology, and ancient philosophy, and he could quote classical literature by heart.

Legacy

Hessay received minimal recognition for his paintings during his lifetime. When newspapers wrote articles on his exhibitions, they dwelt more on his person than the paintings on display. In 1980, a retrospective of Hessay's life and art was held at the Langley Centennial Museum in

Fort Langley Fort Langley is a village community in Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of approximately 3,400 people. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company ...

, curated by Warren Sommer. It included photographs, watercolours, and oil paintings. Writing for the

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

, Brenda White declared that "inside the exhibition space is the still ringing voice of a man who reached into his soul to understand the world he reached out to embrace", and for all their diversity, "the themes originate from the same deep well of emotion and restlessness". His artworks were next exhibited in the Grain Elevator Gallery in

Dawson Creek Dawson Creek is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of had a population of 12,978 in 2016. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after ...

in 1984, a month-long exhibition. The Toronto art critic Jennifer Oille, while regarding skeptically the events of Hessay's life, described the works as ranging from objective landscape to mindscapes and expressionist symbols.Oille 1984, p. 35. In 2005, Leonard Woods authored a slim coffee-table book, ''Meditations on the Paintings of Carle Hessay'' (Trabarni, 2005), an exploration of the thematic content of the artist's paintings. Four paintings of Hessay's ''The Hollow World'' series appeared in public for the first time, in 2009 at the juried exhibition, ''Universe Inspired Art by Canadian Artists'', sponsored by the

NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics The NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre (NRC Herzberg, HAA) is the leading Canadian centre for astronomy and astrophysics. It is based in Victoria, British Columbia. The current Director-General, as of 2021, is Luc Simard. ...

. The scenes were accompanied by poems from bill bissett, Leonard A. Woods, and Terence Young. The 2014 book, ''For Kelly, with Love: Poems on the Abstracts of Carle Hessay'' (Treeline Press), arranged and edited by Maidie Hilmo, commemorated an unusual project in homage of Kelly Parsons, a Victoria poet and medievalist, who died of breast cancer in 2008. Sixteen Canadian poets were invited to finish a project contemplated by Parsons, but never begun due to her declining health, by each writing one or more poems inspired by Hessay's small abstracts. The collaborative effort included poets such as bill bissett,

Patrick Friesen Patrick Frank Friesen (born 5 July 1946) is a Canadian author born in Steinbach, Manitoba, primarily known for his poetry and stage plays beginning in the 1970s. Life and career Friesen was born into a Mennonite family in Steinbach, Manitoba ...

, Linda Rogers, and

Patricia Young Patricia Young (born 1954 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian poet, and short story writer. She is married to writer Terence Young. Their daughter Clea Young is also a writer, whose debut short story collection ''Teardown'' was publishe ...

, among others. In her contribution, Dorothy Field links how Hessay applied "black ink like tar", to Parsons' use of her hands in making arts and crafts, both "undamming the heart". Several poets felt a kinship between writing poems and painting. The abstracts spun a variety of responses: divination of personal relationships, glimpsed mythical forces, expressions of mirth, even Oscar Wilde. The book launch, at the Templed Mind Gallery in Victoria, featured the authors reading their poems, and concluded with a talk on Kelly Parsons by Kathryn Kerby-Fulton, a medieval scholar who knew Parsons well. Arleen Paré wrote two poems, ''She Asked For Birds'', and ''City Slants'', after a pair of untitled paintings by Hessay. They appeared in her 2015 book, ''He Leaves His Face in the Funeral Car'' (Caitlin Press). A documentary film about Hessay, directed by Guochen Wang, screened at the

in 2017, in conjunction with an exhibit displaying some of Hessay's futurist views, renditions of the Spanish Civil War, and wilderness landscapes. The film, narrated by Linda Rogers, consists of interviews with twelve people who either knew the artist personally, or were familiar with his work. It closes with bisset's performance of his poem ''letting th brush dance'', which reimagines Hessay's process of creating an action painting. Hessay's works are represented in the collections of the Langley Centennial Museum"Carle Hessay Exhibition", 12 November 1980. and the Penticton Art Gallery. His 1968 painting ''Port City'' appeared on the cover of the book ''Late Modernism and Expatriation'', edited by Lauren Arrington, and published in 2022 by Clemson University Press in association with

Liverpool University Press Liverpool University Press (LUP), founded in 1899, is the third oldest university press in England after Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. As the press of the University of Liverpool, it specialises in modern languages, li ...

Exhibitions of paintings

* Village Art Centre –

West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...

, 25 February to 13 March 1965"Carl Hessay has city art display", 25 February 1965. * Buchanan Gallery -

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 ...

, Oct–Nov 1966."Buchanan Gallery Exhibits Hessay", 4 November 1966. * Richmond Arts Centre - Richmond, Sep–Oct 1969. Sixty piece exhibition."Museum To Display Ukrainian Folk Art", 3 October 1969. *

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and ...

– Vancouver, annual exhibitions, until at least 1971"Artist to Show", 30 Sep 1971. * Mind and Matter Gallery ( Arnold Mikelson, owner) – White Rock, 1971, 1979"Hessay exhibit in White Rock", 23 May 1979. * ''C Hessay: Signs and Posters'', Surrey Centennial Arts Centre – Surrey, 19 June to 8 July 1972 * New Westminster Art Gallery -

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capi ...

, 11 to 16 September 1972"Local artist has special showing", 7 September 1972. * Heritage House Gallery –

, 12–20 October 1973 * Langley Arts Centre – Langley, 7–8 May 1977 * Langley Centennial Museum –

, June 1980"Art of Carle Hessay to Be Exhibited at Langley", 4 June 1980. * Dawson Creek Grain Elevator Gallery –

, May 1984 * Templed Mind Gallery –

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, March 2014 * Audain Gallery,

– Victoria, 14 to 17 May 2017

Gallery

Landscapes

File:Carle Hessay - (West Coast) Rain Forest (1967).jpg, ''(West Coast) Rain Forest.'' 1967. File:Carle Hessay - Above the Yalakom (1970).jpg, ''Above the Yalakom.'' 1970. File:Carle Hessay - Lords of the Golden Forest (1977).jpg, ''Lords of the Golden Forest''.
1977. Watercolour. File:Carle Hessay - Break of Day (1977).jpg, ''Break of Day''. 1977.

Abstracts

File:Carle Hessay - Abstract No. 231, or Cathedral Grove.jpg, ''Abstract No. 231'', or ''Cathedral Grove'' (after a poem by Barbara Colebrook Peace). Watercolour. File:Carle Hessay - Abstract No. 60, or Life Drawing (1966).jpg, ''Abstract No. 60'', or ''Life Drawing'' (after a poem by Eve Joseph). File:Carle Hessay - Abstract No. 229, or Igneus.jpg, ''Abstract No. 229'', or ''Igneus'' (after a poem by

). File:Carle Hessay - Contrivance Naturelle, or Image for Skindivers (1966).jpg, ''Contrivance Naturelle'', or ''Image for Skindivers.'' 1966.

Cabins to Cities series

File:Carle Hessay - Immigrant Mother and Child (1964).jpg, ''Immigrant Mother and Child.'' 1964. File:Carle Hessay - The Great City (1972).jpg, ''The Great City''. 1972. File:Carle Hessay - Abandoned Village (1976).jpg, ''Abandoned Village''. 1976. File:Carle Hessay - Magenta Fire (1977).jpg, ''Magenta Fire.'' 1977.

The Hollow World series

File:Carle Hessay - Image of the Lower Regions, or Image of the Hollow World (1974).jpg, ''Image of the Lower Regions''. 1974. File:Carle Hessay - Ancient Mariner of the Space Age (1974).jpg, ''Ancient Mariner of the Space Age.'' 1974. File:Carle Hessay - There Shall Be Sound (1974).jpg, ''There Shall Be Sound''. 1974. File:Carle Hessay - The Builders (1974).jpg, ''The Builders''. 1974.

The Spanish Civil War and Biblical prophecy

File:Carle Hessay - The Dark Riders (1971).jpg, ''The Dark Riders''. 1971. File:Carle Hessay - The Showoff, Pedro Ajala (1973).jpg, ''The Showoff'' (Pedro Ajala).
1973. File:Carle Hessay - La Passionaria (Dolores Ibárruri) at the Jarama River (1976).jpg, ''La Pasionaria (

)
at the Jarama River.'' 1976. File:Carle Hessay - The Number of Man (1977).jpg, ''The Number of Man''. 1977.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Carle Hessay: Canadian Artist (1911–1978)

Artists in Canada

Videos

Canadian Art Inspired by the Universe
Includes eight paintings by Carle Hessay (seen from 17:38 to 21:00). National Research Council of Canada, Herzburg Institute of Astrophysics (NRC). Gary Sedun, compiler (2009).
Colour and Sound Highlights
Poetry readings from ''For Kelly, with Love: Poems on the Abstracts of Carle Hessay.'' Director: Guochen Wang. Templed Mind Gallery, Victoria, British Columbia. March 5, 8–9, 2014.
Carle Hessay exhibition at the University of Victoria, Audain Gallery
Director: Guochen Wang. Piano: Carle Hessay, from a 1960s recording (May 2017). {{DEFAULTSORT:Hessay, Carle 1911 births 1978 deaths Canadian Army personnel of World War II Royal Canadian Engineers soldiers Artists from Dresden People from Langley, British Columbia (city) German Expressionist painters 20th-century German painters Abstract expressionist artists 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters Canadian landscape painters Canadian alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts German emigrants to Canada 20th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century Canadian male artists