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William Perehudoff, 1918-2013

Post #1594 • March 4, 2013, 11:29 AM

As reported by the CBC:

Best known for his abstract style, his paintings have been displayed all over the country including the National Gallery of Canada.

Fellow artist Robert Christie says he was a pioneer of abstract painting in Saskatchewan. The movement he was most closely associated with is "colour field" painting, where the canvases are dominated by large fields of flat colour.

"He was a bit of a mentor to me and certainly to others," Christie said. "Not just in Saskatoon, but in Edmonton, Calgary and further afield and even into Britain."

Lawyer Henry Kloppenburg, who knew the artist for decades and collected a number of his works, called Perehudoff a wonderful person.

"You could see that here was an individual who thought about the world he lived in and was attempting to make a contribution by his art to the world in which we live. A real genuine guy."

Perehudoff's daughter, Cathy Fowler, says her father never felt a need to abandon his prairie roots. Even after his reputation as an artist was established he continued to work on the family farm.

"He's an example for young artists in the sense that you don't have to move to a major centre to make it as an artist," Kloppenburg said.

Wikipedia:

His formal education ended at grade four, but he pursued art studies with French artist Jean Chariot at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 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 and Jules Olitski. 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, which had an enormous impact upon his art and career.

Rest in peace.

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