William Perehudoff
Encyclopedia
William Perehudoff, OC
, SOM
(born 1919 in Langham, Saskatchewan
) is a Canadian artist, most closely associated with colour field painting
. He is married to the landscape painter Dorothy Knowles.
, Colorado (1948-49), with Amedee Ozenfant
at the Ozenfant School of Fine Arts, New York, New York (1949-50) and through the Emma Lake Artists' Workshops (various years, 1957 to 1990), where he became acquainted with teachers Kenneth Noland
, Jules Olitski
, and Clement Greenberg
. It was at one of these workshops in 1962 that he met New York art critic Clement Greenberg
, who was set him on his path toward Post-painterly Abstraction
, with enormous impact upon his art and his career.
Perehudoff's work is represented in numerous public and private collections, including National Gallery of Canada
, Mendel Gallery in Saskatoon, Canada Council Art Bank, Glenbow Museum
in Calgary, Art Gallery of Ontario
, Montreal Museum of Fine Art,among others.
In 1994, he was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit
. In 1999, he was inducted as member to the Order of Canada
. Due to failing health, Perehudoff gave up painting in 2001.
In November 2009, several of Perehudoff's murals were successfully removed from the executive suite in the former Intercontinental Packers plant. Perehudoff painted them in 1950, and the abstract silhouettes are considered the last remaining examples of their kind from the period. Appraised at $
250,000, the murals had been at risk as the plant was slated for demolition. Ian Hodkinson, a retired art conservator, was brought in and used a special method to remove the acrylic paint from the plaster intact. The murals will remain in storage until the proposed Art Gallery of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon is built. They will be displayed in a special antechamber, built to the same dimensions as the boardroom in which they first existed.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, SOM
Saskatchewan Order of Merit
The Saskatchewan Order of Merit is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Instituted in 1985 by Lieutenant Governor Frederick Johnson, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Grant Devine, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
(born 1919 in Langham, Saskatchewan
Langham, Saskatchewan
-Neighboring Communities:Rural Saskatchewan is known for the support that communities give each other in the form of attending community activities, sharing sport teams, and building friendships among children and adults from neighboring towns and cities. Communities that surround Langham include...
) is a Canadian artist, most closely associated with colour field painting
Color Field
Color Field painting is a style of abstract painting that emerged in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. It was inspired by European modernism and closely related to Abstract Expressionism, while many of its notable early proponents were among the pioneering Abstract Expressionists...
. He is married to the landscape painter Dorothy Knowles.
Life and career
Perehudoff was born in Langham, Saskatchewan in 1919. His formal education ended at grade four, but he pursued art studies with French artist Jean Chariot at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts CenterColorado Springs Fine Arts Center
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is an arts center located just north of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. Located on the same city block are the American Numismatic Association and part of the campus of Colorado College....
, Colorado (1948-49), with Amedee Ozenfant
Amédée Ozenfant
Amédée Ozenfant was a French cubist painter.He was born into a bourgeois family in Saint-Quentin, Aisne and was educated at Dominican colleges in Saint-Sébastien...
at the Ozenfant School of Fine Arts, New York, New York (1949-50) and through the Emma Lake Artists' Workshops (various years, 1957 to 1990), where he became acquainted with teachers Kenneth Noland
Kenneth Noland
Kenneth Noland was an American abstract painter. He was one of the best-known American Color field painters, although in the 1950s he was thought of as an abstract expressionist and in the early 1960s he was thought of as a minimalist painter. Noland helped establish the Washington Color School...
, Jules Olitski
Jules Olitski
Jules Olitski was an American abstract painter, printmaker, and sculptor.-Early life:Olitski was born Jevel Demikovski in Snovsk, in the Russian SFSR , a few months after his father, a commissar, was executed by the Russian government...
, and Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg was an American essayist known mainly as an influential visual art critic closely associated with American Modern art of the mid-20th century...
. It was at one of these workshops in 1962 that he met New York art critic Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg was an American essayist known mainly as an influential visual art critic closely associated with American Modern art of the mid-20th century...
, who was set him on his path toward Post-painterly Abstraction
Post-painterly Abstraction
Post-painterly abstraction is a term created by art critic Clement Greenberg as the title for an exhibit he curated for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1964, which subsequently travelled to the Walker Art Center and the Art Gallery of Toronto....
, with enormous impact upon his art and his career.
Perehudoff's work is represented in numerous public and private collections, including National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
, Mendel Gallery in Saskatoon, Canada Council Art Bank, Glenbow Museum
Glenbow Museum
The Glenbow Museum in Calgary is one of Western Canada's largest museums, with over 93,000 square feet of exhibition space in more than 20 galleries, showcasing a selection of the Glenbow's collection of over a million objects....
in Calgary, Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
, Montreal Museum of Fine Art,among others.
In 1994, he was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit
Saskatchewan Order of Merit
The Saskatchewan Order of Merit is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Instituted in 1985 by Lieutenant Governor Frederick Johnson, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Grant Devine, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
. In 1999, he was inducted as member to the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. Due to failing health, Perehudoff gave up painting in 2001.
In November 2009, several of Perehudoff's murals were successfully removed from the executive suite in the former Intercontinental Packers plant. Perehudoff painted them in 1950, and the abstract silhouettes are considered the last remaining examples of their kind from the period. Appraised at $
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
250,000, the murals had been at risk as the plant was slated for demolition. Ian Hodkinson, a retired art conservator, was brought in and used a special method to remove the acrylic paint from the plaster intact. The murals will remain in storage until the proposed Art Gallery of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon is built. They will be displayed in a special antechamber, built to the same dimensions as the boardroom in which they first existed.
External links
- University of Regina news release
- Artnet.com
- The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Winchester Galleries - works by Perehudoff from the 1980s and 1990s
- Mendel's Murals - blog describing the removal of Perehudoff murals