Jack Shadbolt has long been recognized as an artist of international stature.  Shadbolt is a respected and loved artist, teacher and benefactor who made an outstanding contribution to the arts in Canada and particularly in British Columbia.   He was born in England in 1909 and came to Canada with his parents in 1912.

Jack Shadbolt is also honoured for his contributions as a teacher.  From 1928 to 1937, he taught in high schools in Duncan and Vancouver, B.C. while attending night classes under Frederick Varley at the Vancouver School of Art (V.S.A.).   In 1938, he began teaching at the V.S.A. and was the Head of Painting and Drawing until 1966.  He was a profound influence on his pupils at the V.S.A where he was known as a spell-binding lecturer and inspiring teacher. During this time he also spent two years as an official War Artist in the Canadian Army, and a year in study at the Art Student's League in New York.   

Shadbolt’s role as a mentor of younger artists is well known.  His personal support and encouragement has been crucial to many young artists' careers.  In 1988, with Doris Shadbolt, he established the Vancouver Institute for the Visual Arts (VIVA), a foundation granting awards to visual artists in British Columbia.  He has also been prominent in support of the Children's Arts Umbrella.

Shadbolt wrote and published three books: "In Search of Form", "Mind's I", and "Act of Art”.  He received the Guggenheim Award in 1957, the Molson Prize in 1977, and Gershon Iskowitz Award in 1990. Public recognition in the form of honorary doctorates from the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, and the Order of Canada attest to his accomplishments.   In 1989 he was made Freeman of the City of Vancouver.

Jack Shadbolt’s prolific body of work has been featured in over 60 solo exhibitions and retrospectives. He has represented Canada in international exhibitions around the world. His works are represented in all major galleries across Canada and he is in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Canada.  His works also hang in many private and corporate collections.  Shadbolt’s work has had a major influence on the development of Canadian painting. 

Poet, author, teacher and mentor Jack Shadbolt died in 1998.