'Tropical Coastal Seascape, 1973' by Leonard Hutchinson, Royal Canadian Academy, National Gallery of Canada

Description

Signed lower right, 'L. Hutchinson' for Leonard Hutchinson (Canadian, 1896-1980) and dated 1973.

Born in Manchester, England, Leonard Hutchinson first … more Signed lower right, 'L. Hutchinson' for Leonard Hutchinson (Canadian, 1896-1980) and dated 1973.

Born in Manchester, England, Leonard Hutchinson first studied at the Colchester School of Art. In 1912, his family emigrated to Canada, taking up residence in Tillsonburg, Ontario. When war was declared in 1914, Hutchinson returned to England and enlisted in the Royal Military Corps. Following the war, he returned to Canada and the tobacco belt, where he started sketching migrant workers in the fields and curing houses.

After moving to Hamilton in the early 1920s, Hutchinson worked as a graphic artist at Barnard Stamp and Stencil, studying art in the evenings at the Hamilton Technical Institute. He also began making the block prints for which he would later become best known. In 1932, he began teaching at the Hamilton Technical Institute.

In 1936, Hutchinson was appointed governor of the Hamilton Art Gallery, a position he held until the mid 1940's. In 1967, he was elected Academician of the Royal Canadian Academy and received the Centennial Gold Medal for his contribution to Canadian art. In addition to numerous other honors conferred upon him, Hutchinson served as President of the Canadian Society of Graphic Art, President of the Society of Canadian Painter-Etchers and Engravers, and founded the Hamilton Chapter of the Canadian Artists' Union. He also exhibited widely and with success including at Royal Canadian Academy and the National Gallery of Canada's annual exhibition of Canadian Art.

We are pleased to offer a late tropical beach scene by this notable Canadian master.

Reference:
Climbing the cold white peaks: A survey of artists in and from Hamilton 1910-1950, Stuart MacCuaig, Hamilton Artists’ Inc 1986, pages 68-73; et al. less