Jack Leonard Shadbolt, OC

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

, OBC

Order of British Columbia

The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour...

 (February 4, 1909 – November 22, 1998) was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 painter.

Early life

Born in Shoeburyness

Shoeburyness

Shoeburyness is a town in southeast Essex, England, situated at the mouth of the river Thames Estuary. It is within the borough of Southend-on-Sea, and is situated at the far east of the borough, around east of Southend town centre...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Shadbolt came to Canada with his parents in 1912. He was raised in Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

.

From 1928 to 1937, he taught in high schools in Duncan, British Columbia

Duncan, British Columbia

Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.-History:The community is named after William Chalmers Duncan . He arrived in Victoria in May 1862, then in August of that year he was one of the party of a hundred settlers which Governor Douglas took to Cowichan Bay...

 and Vancouver, British Columbia.

He was married to Doris Shadbolt

Doris Shadbolt

Doris Shadbolt, OC, née Meisel, was a Canadian art curator, writer and co-ordinator of exhibitions.-References:For details, see http://www.shadboltfoundation.org/founders.html...

.

Starting in 1938, he taught and studied with Frederick Varley

Frederick Varley

Frederick Horsman Varley, also known as Fred Varley , was a member of the Canadian Group of Seven artists.-Early life:Varley was born in Sheffield, England. He studied art in Sheffield and in Belgium...

 at the Vancouver School of Art.

War artist

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Shadbolt was an official War artist

War artist

A war artist depicts some aspect of war through art; this might be a pictorial record or it might commemorate how "war shapes lives." War artists have explored a visual and sensory dimension of war which is often absent in written histories or other accounts of warfare.- Definition and context:A...

 in the Canadian Army.

Later years

After the war, Shadbolt returned to his faculty position at the Vancouver School of Art (VSA). When he retired in 1966, he had become the head of painting and drawing section. He devoted more time to painting.

In 1972, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

. In 1990, he was awarded the Order of British Columbia

Order of British Columbia

The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour...

. Throughout his life, Shadbolt continued to advance the boundaries of his art.

Selected works

• 1968 — In Search of Form
• 1973 — Mind's I
• 1981 — Act of Art

Further reading

• Watson, Scott. (1990). Jack Shadbolt. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre. 10-ISBN 0888946139/13-ISBN 9780888946133; 10-ISBN 0888946147/13-ISBN 9780888946140; OCLC 24544021