1930-2015 → British born artist Donald Harvey’s works in watercolour and acrylics were at first largely non-representational. His later images drew from nature, communicating ideas about the relationship between the natural and built environments. He was at the forefront of abstract painting experimentation in the 1960s and 1970s in Victoria, BC.
After studies at the West Sussex College of Art and the Brighton College of Art in England, Harvey eventually immigrated to Canada in 1958. He settled in Regina, quickly becoming involved in the arts scene there and serving as Executive Secretary of the Saskatchewan Arts Board from 1958-1961. He later moved to Victoria, BC, joining the University of Victoria’s Education Department, and together with colleague John Dobereiner, founding the Visual Arts Department in 1966. Throughout his 30-year teaching career at the University of Victoria, Harvey maintained both a rigorous teaching schedule and professional artistic practice.
Harvey began exhibiting work in the mid-1950s. His paintings, prints and drawings received significant international recognition, and his work was exhibited in the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Seattle Art Museum and the Musee d’art contemporain de Montreal. His work is part of the University of Victoria’s permanent collection. He retired from teaching in 1992 and died in Victoria in 2015.
For all you deep art divers out there.
University of Victoria, Department of Visual Arts Article on Donald Harvey.
The artist’s “broken, hard-edged style”.
More information on John Dobereiner.
The Canadian Art Preservation Foundation posts short biographies and information on artists and artwork from its collection in a not-so-subtle attempt to capture your attention and interest in our mission, but we also just want to keep this artwork in view. We are excited about the art we collect and want to share it with you. CAPF is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the artwork of Canada’s superstar artists for future generations to examine, study and exhibit – the ones you know and the ones you might not know so well. We accept artwork, journals, notes, letters, exhibition catalogues and anything else that might comprise a visual and/or intellectual “portrait” (ahem, please pardon the pun) of a particular artist.
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