Canadian Portrait Academy
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Portrait Academy (CPA), is a professional Canadian
art academy dedicated to the practice and appreciation of portraiture
within Canada and abroad.
, Myfanwy Pavelic
, and Dora de Pedery-Hunt
. The first CPA Honorary Academician was Cleeve Horne
.
The CPAs first annual exhibition was held in Vancouver
, British Columbia
in 1998, lauded by noted Canadian art historian Joan Murray and Canadian Governor General Roméo LeBlanc
.
The CPA has exhibited from coast to coast in Canada and in the United Kingdom
, and has donated and commissioned numerous portraits for many important art galleries and museums around the world including the Imperial War Museum
and the British Museum
, among many others. Some noted personalities to have had their portraits commissioned by the CPA include: Queen Elizabeth II, Dame Jane Goodall
, Conrad Black
, and Barbara Amiel
.
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...
art academy dedicated to the practice and appreciation of portraiture
Portrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait...
within Canada and abroad.
History
In 1996, Canadian artist and historian Christian Corbet visited the studios and corresponded with some of the leading portrait artists of the time. It was noted then that no official portrait organization had ever been formed in Canada prior to that year and on 7 March 1997 the CPA was established. Some of the CPA founding members included: Christian Corbet, who served as the first President of the CPA, Elizabeth Bradford HolbrookElizabeth Bradford Holbrook
Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook, CM, O.Ont was a Canadian portrait sculptor, medal designer and liturgical artist...
, Myfanwy Pavelic
Myfanwy Pavelic
Myfanwy Pavelic, CM, OBC, CPA, née Spencer, was a Canadian portrait artist.-Early life and career:Born in Victoria, British Columbia to an upper class family, her first interests in fine art came after meeting with Emily Carr on Vancouver Island who later gave a brief series of instruction to...
, and Dora de Pedery-Hunt
Dora de Pedery-Hunt
Dora de Pedery-Hunt, CM, O.Ont was an artist who designed various coins and medals and was awarded the Order of Canada. On September 29, 2008, she died from colorectal cancer....
. The first CPA Honorary Academician was Cleeve Horne
Cleeve Horne
Arthur Edward Cleeve Horne, OC, O.Ont, RCA, OSA, SSC, CPA was a Canadian portrait painter and sculptor.-Career:...
.
The CPAs first annual exhibition was held in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in 1998, lauded by noted Canadian art historian Joan Murray and Canadian Governor General Roméo LeBlanc
Roméo LeBlanc
Roméo-Adrien LeBlanc was a Canadian journalist, politician, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 25th since Canadian Confederation....
.
Activities
Since its inception the CPA stands as the first professional academy dedicated to the fine art of portraiture in Canada, raising the profile of portrait artists internationally. The CPA does this by means of sponsored exhibitions, the CPA Permanent Collection and the extensive artists files that the Academy houses.The CPA has exhibited from coast to coast in Canada and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and has donated and commissioned numerous portraits for many important art galleries and museums around the world including the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
and the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, among many others. Some noted personalities to have had their portraits commissioned by the CPA include: Queen Elizabeth II, Dame Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
, Conrad Black
Conrad Black
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...
, and Barbara Amiel
Barbara Amiel
Barbara Joan Estelle Amiel, Baroness Black of Crossharbour is a British-Canadian journalist, writer, and socialite. She is also the wife of former media baron and convicted felon Conrad Black.-Early life:...
.
Honourary CPA Academicians
- Frederick VarleyFrederick VarleyFrederick 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...
- Mildred Valley ThorntonMildred Valley ThorntonMildred Valley Thornton Hon. CPA, FRSA was born Mildred Valley Stinson a Canadian portrait and landscapepainter. She studied in Toronto, Ontario and Chicago, Illinois and later married Henry Thornton a Confectioner and emigrant of England.-Education and training:Thornton's early education was in...
- Cleeve HorneCleeve HorneArthur Edward Cleeve Horne, OC, O.Ont, RCA, OSA, SSC, CPA was a Canadian portrait painter and sculptor.-Career:...
- Sing Hoo
- Emanuel HahnEmanuel HahnEmanuel Otto Hahn was a German-born Canadian sculptor and coin designer. He taught and later married Elizabeth Wyn Wood. He co-founded and was the first president of the Sculptors' Society of Canada....
- Jacobine JonesJacobine JonesPhyllis Jacobine Jones was a sculptor. She was born in England, but migrated to Canada in 1933.- Life :Jones traveled around Denmark and Italy with her mother for years until, at 28, she studied casting, carving, and modeling at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London...
- Elizabeth Wyn WoodElizabeth Wyn WoodElizabeth Wyn Wood was a Canadian sculptor, born in Orillia, Ontario, Canada.Wood studied sculpture at the Ontario College of Art and at the Art Students League of New York...
- John GouldJohn GouldJohn Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
- Sophie PembertonSophie PembertonSophie Pemberton was a Canadian painter.Born in Victoria, British Columbia, she was the daughter of Teresa Jane Grautoff and Joseph Despard Pemberton...
- Sylvia DaoustSylvia DaoustSylvia Daoust, CM, CQ , born in Montreal, was one of the first female sculptors in Quebec. She graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal , but also studied in Europe...
- Dora de Pedery Hunt
- Leo MolLeo MolLeo Mol, OC, OM was a Ukrainian Canadian artist and sculptor.Born Leonid Molodozhanyn in Polonne, Ukraine, Mol studied sculpture at the Leningrad Academy of Arts from 1936 to 1940. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union he moved to Germany where he was influenced by Arno Breker...