Previous Artist
Harold Town (1924-1990 Peterborough, Ontario) was one of Canada ’s most prolific and versatile artists. His vast body of work comprises paintings, etchings, lithographs, collages, drawings and works in other media.
During his lifetime, his work was shown at major galleries and international exhibitions in North and South America and in Europe.
He was a founding member of Painters Eleven, the name of the group which was based simply on the number of artists that were present the first meeting. This group of artists helped to introduce Canadians to abstract art in the 1950’s.
Throughout his career he remained a focus of controversy for his original artwork, flamboyant public persona and outspoken opinions.
Town was trained at Central Technical School 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 Paolo 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 Autograph Prints", a phrase he never explained. These monotype prints were colourful and delicate, winning Town awards in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia and Santiago, Chile, were the prints were acquired by the Solomon Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Alfred Barr the director of MoMA at the time called Town "one of the world's greatest printmakers."
His work can be found in the collections of:
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Tate Gallery, London, England
the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Cleveland Museum
Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa (a gallery that specializes in the work of the Painters Eleven)
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston
Vancouver Art Gallery
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Glenbow Museum, Calgary
University of Lethbridge
Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary
Edmonton Art Gallery
Art Gallery of Ontario
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Le Musee du Quebec
Le Musee d’Art Contemporain, Montreal
Concordia University, Montreal
New Brunswick Museum
Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton
Owens Art Gallery, Sackville
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Confederation Art Gallery, Charlottetown
Memorial Art Gallery, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina
Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Art Gallery of Peterborough
Macdonald-Stewart Art Centre, Guelph
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound
Art Gallery of Windsor
London Regional Art and Historical Museum
Lambton Gallery, Sarnia
Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa
York University, Toronto
University Art Gallery, Massey College and Victoria College
University of Toronto
Prince of Wales Museum, Yellowknife
and the Territorial Art Gallery, Whitehorse.