Jack Shadbolt
Jack Shadbolt (1909-1998) 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.
Public Collections
Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Investment Corporation
BC College of Physicians and Surgeons
BC Government Collection
Canada Council Art Bank
CIL Collection
Confederation Art Gallery
Cleveland Art Museum
Hamilton Art Gallery
Hirshhorn Collection
Inco Collection
Longstaffe Collection
McMaster University
Mills College Art Museum
National Gallery of Canada
Pirelli Art Collection
Prueter Collection
Sarnia Art Gallery
Saskatoon Art Gallery
SC Johnson & Son, Inc. Wisconsin
Seattle Art Museum
Shell Oil Collection
Simon Fraser University
Smith College
University of British Columbia
University of Manitoba
Vancouver Art Gallery
Zacks Collection
Solo Exhibitions
1936 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Landscapes and Drawings
1939 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Drawing, Watercolours and Canvases
1940 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Mural Panels and Caricatures
1941 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Drawings, Watercolours and Canvases
1941 Art Gallery of Toronto Toronto, Ontario
Two person exhibition with Eric Bergman
1941 Kenneth McAllister’s Studio Victoria, BC
Two person exhibition with Max Maynard
1942 Vancouver Art Gallery,February Vancouver, BC
1942 Vancouver Art Gallery,October Vancouver, BC
1943 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Drawing and Watercolours in the Camouflage Training School
1944 T. Eaton Gallery Toronto, Ontario
1946 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
1946 Spencer’s Art Gallery Victoria, BC
1947 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
1947 Mildred Brock Room, UBC Vancouver, BC
1948 Laing Galleries Toronto, Ontario
1948 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Paintings by J.L. Shadbolt
1949 Laurel Art Gallery New York
1950 UBC Art Centre Vancouver, BC
1950 Art Gallery of Toronto Toronto, Ontario
Seed Pods and Grasses
1952 San Francisco Museum of Art San Francisco, CA
1953 School of Art Winnipeg, Manitoba
1953 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Paintings by J.L. Shadbolt
1953 San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco, CA
1953 Arts Centre of Greater Victoria Victoria, BC
1954 Art Gallery of Toronto Toronto, Ontario
Roloff Beny and Jack Shadbolt
1955 Musee des beaux arts Montreal, Quebec
EJ Hughes and Jack Shadbolt
1957 New Design Gallery Vancouver, BC
Paintings from the Cote D’azur
1958 Seattle Art Museum Seattle, WA
Mediterranean Paintings
1959 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Ten Year Retrospective Exhibition
1960 Zoe Dusanne Gallery Seattle, WA
1960 Laing Galleries Toronto, Ontario
1960 New Design Gallery Vancouver, BC
1961 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Victoria, BC
1961 New Design Gallery Vancouver, BC
Paintings from Greece, Italy and France
1960 Laing Galleries Toronto, Ontario,
Mediterranean paintings
1960 New Design Gallery Vancouver, BC
Gouaches and script inventions
1961 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Victoria, BC
Greek Notations
1961 New Design Gallery Vancouver, BC
1961 Laing Galleries Toronto, Ontario
Mediterranean Paintings
1962 Zoe Dusanne Gallery Seattle, WA
1962 Western Canada Art Circuit
Edmonton, Victoria, Regina, Calgary, Brandon and New Westminster
1963 New Design Gallery Vancouver, BC
Paintings in acrylic, gouache and ink
1964 Jerrold Morris Gallery Toronto, Ontario
1964 Edmonton Art Gallery Winnipeg, Charlottetown, Victoria Studies for Airport Mural and Vancouver
1964 Galerie Agnes Lefort Montreal, Quebec
1965 New Design Gallery Vancouver, BC
The Space Between Columns
1966 Angel’s Camp Gallery Victoria, BC
Script painting
1966 New Design Gallery,Other Birds Vancouver, BC
1967 Burnaby Art Gallery Burnaby, BC
Retrospective, 1939-1967
1967 Douglas Gallery Vancouver, BC
A Black and White Exhibition
1968 Public Library & Art Museum London, Ontario
1969 VAG/National Gallery Travelling Exhibition
1969 Jerrold Morris Gallery Toronto, Ontario
Drawings from In Search of Form
1969 Galerie Godard Lefort Montreal, Quebec
1969 Fleet Gallery Winnipeg, MB
1970 The Print Gallery Victoria, BC
1971 West Vancouver Visual Arts Vancouver, BC
The Architecture of a Winter Garden
1971 Bau-Xi Gallery, Recent Paintings Vancouver, BC
1971 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
The Hornby Suite, Homage to Emily Carr
1971 Bau-Xi Gallery, About Owls Vancouver, BC
1972 Fine Arts Gallery, UBC Vancouver, BC The chilkoot experience
1973 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Mind’s I, poems and drawings
1973 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
To old gardens, articulated fetish, ritual of the arrow
1973 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
A given number of owls(mural)
1974 Bau-Xi,Gallery, Triptychs Vancouver, BC
1974 Bau-Xi Gallery Triptychs Toronto, Ontario
1975 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
African dream series
Solo Exhibitions cont’d
1976 Bau-Xi Gallery, India suite Vancouver and Toronto
1976 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Coast Indian suite
1977 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Landscape events
1977 Bau-Xi Gallery Toronto, Ontario
Butterfly, Transformations, Mountain summer series
1977 Canadian Embassies Houston, TX; Washington, DC
1978 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Jack Shadbolt: Seven years
1978 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Wild Grass series and Flowering Bush Series
1979 Bau-Xi Gallery, Summer Suite Vancouver, BC
1979 Bau-Xi Gallery Toronto, Ontario
Dark Landscapes and Cages
1980 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Victoria, BC
Early watercolours
1980 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Hornby summer, 1980
1980 Bau-Xi Gallery Toronto, Ontario
Equivalents for landscapes
1981 Kyles Gallery Victoria, BC
1981 Bau-Xi Gallery, Act of Art Vancouver and Toronto
1981 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Collioure drawings
1982 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Butterfly Transformation Frieze
1982-83 Bau-Xi Gallery Toronto, BC
Equivalents for landscapes
1983 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Equivalents for landscapes
1984 Art Gallery of Peterborough Peterborough, Ontario
Cross cultural notations
1984 Bau-Xi Gallery, New works Vancouver and Toronto
1984 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Act of Painting
1986 Museum of Anthropology Vancouver, UBC
Jack Shadbolt and the coastal Indian Image
1986 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
1988 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver and Toronto
1988 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Victoria, BC
Butterfly transformation theme
1988 Prince George Art Gallery Prince George, BC
1989 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Showing from the permanent collection
1990 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver and Toronto
1990 Whatcom County Museum Bellingham, Washington
Selected Group Exhibitions
1932 Island Arts and Crafts Society Victoria, BC
23rd Annual Exhibition
1936 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
BC Artist’s Annual
1937 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
B.C. Society of Artists Annual
(also 1940-44, 1946-48, 1950, 1954-64, 1967)
1940 University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC
with Emily Carr and W. Weston
1941 Vancouver Art Gallery, Living Art Week Vancouver, BC
1941 Seattle Art Museum Seattle, Washington
Northwest Artist’s Annual
(also 1953-55, 1958, 1959, 1962)
1941 Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Exhibition Toronto, Ontario
(also 1942, 1964)
1942 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
1945 Vancouver Art Gallery, BC at Work Vancouver, BC
1945 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Canadian Army Art
1946 Philadelphia Watercolour Club, Spring Exhibition
Organized by the National Gallery of Canada Philadelphia, PA
1947 Canadian Group of Painters, at Major Canadian Centres
(also1948, 1956-65)
1948 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
1950 Fraser Valley Art Group New Westminster, BC
5th Annual Exhibition
1951 Musse des beaux Arts, Spring Show Montreal, Quebec
1951 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Third Quarterly Group Show
1951 Art Gallery of Toronto Toronto, Ontario
Canadian society of watercolour painters
(also 1952, National Gallery of Canada 1954, 1955,1958, 1959,1961)
1952 San Francisco Museum San Francisco, CA
16th Annual Watercolour Exhibition
1953 Seattle Art Museum Seattle, WA
Four Northwest Artists
1953 Caracas Bienal Caracas, Venezuela
1953-54 Sao Paulo Bienal Sao Paulo,Brazil
Canadian section
1954 Carnegie Institute Pittsburgh. PA
Carnegie International
1954 La exposician de pintura-moderna Caracas, Venezuela
1954-55 National Gallery of Canada Ottawa, Ontario
Exhibition of California and Canadian
1955 National Gallery of Canada Ottawa, Ontario
First Canadian Biennial (also 2nd, 3rd,4th, and 6th)
Selected Group Exhibitions cont’d
1955 Caracas Biennial Caracas, Venezuela
1955 Carnegie International Pittsburgh, PA
1956 XXVIII Biennale di Venezia Venice, Italy
Canadian pavilion
1956 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Victoria, BC
B.C. Arts Today
1957 London Public Library & Art Museum London, Ontario
Sketch and finished paintings
1958 Dallas Museum and Walker Art Centre Minneapolis
A Canadian Portfolio
1958 San Francisco Art Museum San Francisco, CA
Six Canadian Painters
1958 Guggenheim Museum New York City
Guggenheim International
(Received the Guggenheim National Section Award for Canada)
1958 First Inter-American Bienale Mexico City, Mexico
1958 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
100 years of British Columbia Art
1958 Brussels International Exhibition Belgium
Canadian contemporary Art
1958 27th B.C. Annual Exhibition, B.C. Centennial
1958 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Received Centennial Award
1959 Portland Art Museum Portland, OR
Paintings and sculpture of the Northwest
1959 Brooklyn Museum New York, NY
International Watercolour Biennial
1959 Canadian watercolours Travelling Exhibition
American Federation of Artists
1959 Stratford Festival Art Exhibition Stratford, Ontario
Ten Canadians
1959 Fine Arts Gallery, UBC Vancouver, BC
Seven west coast painters
1961 Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba
7th Annual Winnipeg Show
1962 Recent Canadian Painting Warsaw, Poland
Organized by the National Gallery of Canada
1962 Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba
1st Biennial Winnipeg Show
1962 Seattle’s World Fair Seattle, WA
Creative Spirit of Canada
1962 Carnegie Institute Pittsburgh, PA
Hishhorn Collection, 1st International exhibition
1963 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Four Vancouver Artists
Selected Group Exhibitions cont’d
1963 Albright-Knox Art Gallery Buffalo, New York
Canadian Painting
1963 Rochester Memorial Art Gallery New York, NY
Contemporary Canadian painting and sculpture
1963 Yellow Door Gallery, Northern Terrain Winnipeg, Manitoba
1963 Vancouver 63’, Musee des beaux Arts Montreal, Quebec
1964 Bill Board Art Project Vancouver, BC
1964 Tate Gallery London, England
Canadian Paintings 1939-63
1964 Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba
The 9th Winnipeg Show
1965 Art Gallery of Toronto Toronto, Ontario
Focus on Drawing
1966 Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba
10th Winnipeg Show
1966 Vancouver Art Gallery Travelling Canada
Painting ’66, BC Centennial Show
1966 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Victoria, BC
Painters of the B.C. Mainland
1967 Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canadian Art of Our Time
1967 Bau-Xi Gallery, Northwest Drawings Vancouver, BC
1968 Musee des beaux Arts Montreal, Quebec
Survey 68’ spring show
1974 Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC
Emily Carr’s contemporaries
1974 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Opening Group Exhibition
1974 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, BC
Artist’s Tribute to Colin Graham
1974 Agnes Etherington Art Gallery Kingston, Ontario
New Canadian Masters
1975 Provincial Museum Victoria, BC
Provincial Exhibition
1975-76 Canadian Canvas Travelling Exhibition
Time Canada Ltd. Sponsored
1975-76 Art Gallery of Ontario Toronto, Ontario
The Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, 1925-1975
1976 Glenbow Museum, Western Untitled Calgary, Alberta
1976 Changing Visions: The Canadian Landscape Travelling Exhibition
Organized by Art Gallery of Ontario and Edmonton Art Gallery
1977 Commonwealth Institute London, England
Commonwealth Artist’s of Fame
1977 Agnes Etherington Gallery Kingston, Ontario
Selected Group Exhibitions cont’d
1977 Memorial University St. Johns, Newfoundland
Greetings from Artists
1977 Art Gallery of Peterborough Peterborough, Ontario
Images of the seventies
1977 Harbourfront Art Gallery Toronto, Ontario
Selecting and collecting
1977 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
From This Point of View
1977 Canadian Tapestries 1977 Travelling Exhibition
Sponsored by Art Investment Corporation Toronto
1977 Burnaby Art Gallery Burnaby, BC
10th Anniversary Show, First Society Recreated
1977 Fine Arts Gallery, UBC, For the Birds Vancouver, BC
1979 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Victoria, BC
Nationalism in Canadian Art
1979 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Opening Group Exhibition
1979-80 Art Gallery of Ontario Toronto, Ontario
100 years of the Poster in Canada
1980 Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver, BC
Anniversary Exhibition Part III
1980 Robson Square Media Centre Vancouver, BC
On Canvass, SFU
1980 Cambridge Library and Art Gallery Ontario
Canada Council Art Bank
1980 McMaster University Art Gallery Hamilton, Ontario
Survey Exhibition
1980 Art Gallery of Peterborough Ontario
The Texture of Our Land
1980 Bau-Xi Gallery, 15 years of Bau-Xi Vancouver, BC
1981 National Galleries of Canada & Museum of Modern Art
20th Century Canadian Painting Tokyo, Japan
1981 Kyle’s Gallery, A Painter’s Day Victoria, BC
1981 Sarnia Art Gallery, B.C. Currents Ontario
1981 Emily Carr Gallery of Provincial Archives Victoria, BC
1982 Harbourfront Gallery, Painting ’82 Toronto, Ontario
1983 Edmonton Art Gallery, Winnipeg West Edmonton, Alberta
Paintings and sculpture in western Canada 1945-70
1983 Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Art and Artists; 1931-1983
1983-84 The Canadian Landscape International
Paintings from the Ontario Heritage Travelling Exhibition
Foundation and Firestone Art Collection
Commissions
1935 Mural, Kitsilano High School Vancouver, BC
1941 Mural, (with Paul Garanson), Vogue Theatre Vancouver, BC
1943 United Services Recreation Vancouver, BC
About Town with the United Services
1949 Cycle of Seasons, Alcazar Hotel Vancouver, BC
1951 Dominion Hotel, Cadborosaurus Mural Victoria, BC
1953 Mural, Cockfield, Brown & Co. Ltd. Vancouver, BC
1959 Queen Elizabeth Theatre Restaurant Vancouver, BC
Pageant of Transformation in Nature (Growth Cycle)
1963 Edmonton International Airport Edmonton, AB
Bush Pilot in the Northern Sky
1964 Confederation Memorial Centre Charlottetown, NB
Message Through
1977 Festival Habitat Street Banner Vancouver, BC
1977 Street Banners Vancouver, BC
1984 Metropolitan Life, The Choice Ottawa, Ontario
1987 MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. Vancouver, BC
1987 Cineplex Odeon, Tree of Life Vancouver, BC
Honours/Achievements
1957 Guggenheim Award
1972 Order of Canada
1973 University of Victoria
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa
1977 Molson Prize
1978 University of British Columbia
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa
1978 Simon Fraser University
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa
1989 Freeman of the City of Vancouver
1990 Order of British Columbia
1990 Gershon Iskowitz Award
Selected Books Authored
1968 In Search of Form, McLelland and Stewart Limited
1973 Mind’s I, Poems and Drawings, McLelland and Stewart Limited
1981 Act of Art, McLelland and Stewart Limited
 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 B...&media=//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0042/6196/9990/articles/Jack_600x.jpg?v=1573088347){kind=link}
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