Harold Town
Encyclopedia
Harold Town was a Canadian abstract
painter. He is best known as a member of Painters Eleven
a group of abstract artists active in Toronto
from 1954-1960. Town coined the name of the group, which was based simply on the number of artists that were present the first meeting. He also worked as an illustrator, appearing in magazines such as Maclean's
and Mayfair.
and Ontario College of Art, both in Toronto. Influenced by the work of Pablo Picasso
and Willem de Kooning
, and as well, Asian art at the Royal Ontario Museum
, he developed a collage technique that was acclaimed and Town represented Canada at the Venice Biennale
in 1956 and 1964 and at the São Paulo Bienal in 1957 and 1961. Known as an "unpredictable" painter
Town's work moved quickly from a dark expressionist style to abstraction which contrasted vivid colours. In the 1960s, Town developed a style of prints which he called "Single Autographic Prints" a phrase he never explained. These monotype prints
were colourful and delicate, winning Town awards in Ljubljana
, Yugoslavia
and Santiago
, Chile
, where the prints were acquired by the Solomon Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art
(MoMA0. Alfred Barr
the director of MoMA at the time called Town "one of the world's greatest printmakers."
Town had retrospective exhibitions at the Windsor Art Gallery in 1975 and the Art Gallery of Ontario
in 1986.
at the Riverside Gallery in New York
, and were praised by the influential critic Clement Greenberg
on a visit he paid to Toronto in 1957. In the Canadian press, the group's most ardent supporters were art critic Robert Fulford and Pearl McCarthy, art critic of the Globe and Mail. The group formally disbanded in 1960.
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
painter. He is best known as a member of Painters Eleven
Painters Eleven
Painters Eleven was a collective of abstract artists active in Canada from 1954 to 1960.-History:...
a group of abstract artists active in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
from 1954-1960. Town coined the name of the group, which was based simply on the number of artists that were present the first meeting. He also worked as an illustrator, appearing in magazines such as Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
and Mayfair.
Life and work
Harold Town was trained at Central Technical SchoolCentral Technical School
Central Technical School is a composite high school located at 725 Bathurst Street at Harbord Street in Toronto, Canada.C.T.S. offers a wide range of programs, including all core academic courses, as well as concentration and specialization in visual arts and technical studies. C.T.S...
and Ontario College of Art, both in Toronto. Influenced by the work of Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
and Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, and as well, Asian art at the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
, he developed a collage technique that was acclaimed and Town represented Canada at the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
in 1956 and 1964 and at the São Paulo Bienal in 1957 and 1961. Known as an "unpredictable" painter
Town's work moved quickly from a dark expressionist style to abstraction which contrasted vivid colours. In the 1960s, Town developed a style of prints which he called "Single Autographic Prints" a phrase he never explained. These monotype prints
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
were colourful and delicate, winning Town awards in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, where the prints were acquired by the Solomon Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(MoMA0. Alfred Barr
Alfred Barr
Alfred Hamilton Barr, Jr. , known as Alfred H. Barr, Jr., was an American art historian and the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City...
the director of MoMA at the time called Town "one of the world's greatest printmakers."
Town had retrospective exhibitions at the Windsor Art Gallery in 1975 and the Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
in 1986.
Painters Eleven
In the late 1940s Town met Walter Yarwood and others involved in avant-garde art in Toronto and although he was not ncluded in the Abstracts at Home exhibition held in 1953 at the Robert Simpson Company, Toronto, he joined Painters Eleven when the group was formed later that year. In Canada's conservative art world their early exhibitions were met with disdain. Nevertheless, Painters Eleven attracted U.S. exposure with a successful exhibition, Twentieth Annual Exhibition of American Abstract Artists with "Painters Eleven of Canada in 1956, with the American Abstract ArtistsAmerican Abstract Artists
American Abstract Artists was formed in 1936 in New York City, to promote and foster public understanding of abstract art. American Abstract Artists exhibitions, publications, and lectures helped to establish the organization as a major forum for the exchange and discussion of ideas, and for...
at the Riverside Gallery in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and were praised by the influential critic Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg was an American essayist known mainly as an influential visual art critic closely associated with American Modern art of the mid-20th century...
on a visit he paid to Toronto in 1957. In the Canadian press, the group's most ardent supporters were art critic Robert Fulford and Pearl McCarthy, art critic of the Globe and Mail. The group formally disbanded in 1960.
Further reading
- Broad, Graham. "Art Shock in Toronto: Painters Eleven, The Shock of the New." The Beaver, Canada’s History Magazine Vol. 84:1 (2004).
- Burnett, David G. Town. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1986. ISBN 0771017812
- Fulford, Robert. "Introduction." Magnificent Decade: The Art of Harold Town, 1955-1965. Toronto: The Moore Gallery, 1997.
- Nasgaard, Roald. Abstract Painting in Canada. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2008. ISBN 1553653947
- Withrow, William J. Contemporary Canadian Painting. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1972. ISBN 0771090293
- Nowell, Iris. "Hot Breakfast For Sparrows: My Life With Harold Town," Toronto; Stoddart Publishing, 1992, ISBN 0-7737-2645-4
- Nowell, Iris. "Painters Eleven: The Wild Ones of Canadian Art," Vancouver: Doublas & McIntyre, 2010. ISBN 978-1-55365-590-9
External links
- Robert Fulford's essay on Harold Town
- CBC Radio interview with Harold Town
- The Canadian Encyclopedia entry on Harold Town
- Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, York University - Archival photographs of Harold Town from the Toronto Telegram fonds.