Robert Bateman (painter)

For other people named Robert Bateman, see Robert Bateman (disambiguation).
Robert Bateman
Born (1930-05-24) 24 May 1930
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nationality Canadian
Alma mater Victoria College in the University of Toronto, Ontario College of Education
Known for Painting, wildlife

Robert Bateman, OC OBC (born 24 May 1930) is a Canadian naturalist and painter, born in Toronto, Ontario.[1]

Career

Bateman was always interested in art, but never intended to make a living from it. He was fascinated by the natural world in his childhood; he recorded the sightings of all of the birds in the area of his house in Toronto.[2] He found inspiration from the Group of Seven; he was also interested in making abstract paintings of nature.[3] It was not until the mid-1960s that he changed to his present style, realism.[2] In 1954, he graduated with a degree in geography from Victoria College in the University of Toronto. Afterwards, he attended Ontario College of Education. Although the stage was set for an expert wildlife artist, Bateman moved on to be an art/geography teacher at Nelson High School.[1] However, he still painted in his free time. It wasn’t until the 1970s and 1980s that his work started to receive major recognition. Robert Bateman's show in 1987, at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, drew a large crowd for a living artist.[4]

Bateman also has approximately six books devoted solely to his paintings.[1] The majority are acrylic on various media .[5] Bateman's decision in 1977 to produce reproductions of his paintings through Mill Pond Press has been criticized by some who feel that the reproductions are "overpriced posters that cheapen the legitimate art market".[2] The reproductions are popular items, being sold in print galleries across Canada and more internationally.

In 1999, the Audubon Society of Canada declared Bateman one of the top 100 environmental proponents of the 20th century. [6]

In the early 1980s Bateman and his second wife, Birgit Freybe Bateman, moved to Salt Spring Island. The couple purchased a home located on Reginald Hill Road, looking out on Fulford Harbour, that was designed by Hank Schubart and originally built for actress Eileen Brennan. The couple would later commission Schubart to design them a second house located on Tortoise Island, off of the south coast of Portland Island. In the early 2000s the Batemans moved from the Reginald Hill house to a house on Ford Lake designed by their son in law, Robart Barnard.

Robert Bateman Secondary School in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Robert Bateman High School in Burlington, Ontario, and Robert Bateman Public School, Ottawa, Ontario are named for him. He is an Honorary Director of the North American Native Plant Society.[7]

Honours

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Biography". Robert Bateman Website. June 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Life And Times of Robert Bateman". CBC News. 1997.
  3. ↑ "Robert Bateman, (Originals)". Peninsula Gallery. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  4. ↑ "Algonquin Park Untitled". Pegasus Gallery. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  5. ↑ "Environmental Paintings". Robert Bateman Website. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  6. ↑ Pound, Richard W. (30 March 2007). 'Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates'. Fitzhenry and Whiteside. p. 807. ISBN 978-1554550098. (subscription required (help)).
  7. ↑ "The 2014-2015 NANPS Board of Directors". North American Native Plant Society. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  8. ↑ "Members since 1880". Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
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