Alex Colville 1920 - 2013 The most underrated of Canadian painters, described as a Magic Realist (an offshoot of Surrealism) known to “depict order in a world of chaos”, who paints with an eerie, deadpan stillness in his capture of everyday subject matter. After serving in the army for 2 years he became a war artist during WWII and eventually art professor at Mount Allison University from 1946 to 1963. A self proclaimed entrepreneur, he eventually quit teaching and became a full time painter and print maker at 43. While the rest of the art world was busy wheeling and dealing in minimalists and abstracts this guy stuck to his guns on paintings that I can only imagine took him a forever and a half! His wife Rhoda and muse modelled in several paintings and together they had four children. Today his paintings are ripped off on anywhere from skateboards to homages from film makers the Coen Brothers, Michael Mann, Wes Anderson and Stanley Kubrick. An Order of Canada recipient, he stayed productive until his death at 92. Widely obtained in major collections across Canada and speckled about in Europe but his pièce de résistance, Horse and Train here can be found at the again, underrated and amazing institution that is my hometown, the Art Gallery of Hamilton. You are welcome! 🐎🚂 #alexcolville #agh #underrated #canadianpainter #artbio #artinspiration #filminspiration #painter #entrepreneur https://www.instagram.com/p/CARk2cqgva7/?igshid=mme6y2crgvee
