The death of Alex Colville at age 92 in July 2013 was a reminder of the amazing longevity of many Canadian artists.
Imagine an artistic career encompassing six or seven decades, plenty of time to explore different and sometimes ever-changing dreams, impulses, inspirations, influences, styles, mediums.
Of course, not all Canadian artists had lives and creative careers spanning decades. Some, sadly, left us too soon – Tom Thomson at age 40, George Kulmala at 44 – before sharing all their visions.
But the list of Canadian visual artists who created for decades is impressive, including most of the Group of Seven:
- Frank Leonard Brooks, 100
- Doris McCarthy, 100
- Barker Fairley, 99
- Peter Haworth, 97
- Joseph Plaskett, 96
- Thomas Mower Martin, 95
- Ernest Conyers Barker, 94
- A.J. Casson, 93
- Molly Lamb Bobak, 92
- A.Y. Jackson, 91
- Stanley Cosgrove, 90
- Tom Roberts, 90
- Joseph Giunta, 89
- Jack Shadbolt, 89
- Frank Panabaker, 88
- Bobs Cogill Haworth, 88
- Fred Varley, 88
- Bruno Bobak, 88
- Edwin Holgate, 86
- Lawren Harris, 84
- Arthur Lismer, 83
Such an impressive list begs the question: Does a creative life lead to a longer life?
— Mark Skeffington, FineArtCollector.ca
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