At A Glance
Born: August 24, 1920
Where: Toronto, ON
Interesting Note:
1942 joined the Canadian Army and served in Europe as a member of the War Art program/
Notable Achievements:
Chosen to design a set of coins for Canada's Centenial in 1967;
Officer of the Order of Canada 1967 and raised to Companion 1982; Awarded 8 honourary degrees
1981 to 1991 served as Chancellor of Acadian University, N.S.
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Alex Colville is one of Canada's most famous living painters. Robert Fulford describes him as "a great national icon-maker,"
pointing out that one of his most famous images, Horse and Train reached so far into the Canadian psyche that Bruce Cockburn
used it on a record jacket.
Born in Toronto in 1920, David Alexander Colville and his family moved to Nova Scotia nine years later. He studied Fine Art
at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, graduating in 1942 when he married Rhoda Wright and enlisted in the army.
In 1944 he went overseas as an Official War Artist to record his impressions of World War II including the traumatic entry of
the allies into Bergen Belsen.
After the war, Colville returned to Mount Allison to teach painting and art history. It was during this period that he
found his own style - a realism informed by both surrealism and symbolism. In 1963, he left Mount Allison to begin painting
full-time. Later that year, Colville was awarded the Won Dunn International Award at the Beaverbrook Gallery.
While the National Gallery of Canada first began collecting Colville's work in the 1950s, it was not until exhibitions in
Hanover, Germany and London, England in 1969 and 1970 that he began to experience commercial success. Since then, Colville's
work has been exhibited around the world, and purchased by major galleries and private collectors. The most recent exhibition
at the National Gallery of Canada in 2000 commemorated the artist's eightieth birthday.
Colville's complex interpretations of simple human situations grow out of an abundance of sketches and studies. He understands
that his work is sometimes controversial, telling the CBC's Life and Times "what troubles people about my work, in which they
find mystery and intrigue, may well be the idea that ordinary things are important."
In 1965, Colville was commissioned to design the coins commemorating Canada's centennial year. He was named an Officer of the
Order of Canada in 1967, and made Companion of the Order of Canada in 1982. He has received numerous honorary degrees, and
has served on many provincial and national boards including the Canada Council and the National Gallery of Canada. He was
Chancellor of Nova Scotia's Acadia University from 1981 to 1991.
Canada's Walk of Fame Trivia: A car enthusiast, Colville and his wife of 60 years, Rhoda, live in Wolfville, Nova Scotia where
he continues to paint. The couple has four children.
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Inductees
