Charles Fraser Comfort, LL. D. (July 22, 1900 – July 5, 1994) was a Scottish-born Canadian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, teacher, writer and administrator.

Career and biography

Early life

Born near

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Comfort moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

in 1912 with his family. His father found work with the treasury department for the city of Winnipeg. Comfort, as the eldest child, had to work from a young age to help support his family. In 1914, he began work as a commercial artist at the newly established Brigdens commercial art branch office in Winnipeg established by Frederick Henry (Fred) Brigden, and by 1916 Comfort started attending evening classes at the Winnipeg School of Art. Comfort saved money to attend the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

under

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

and Euphrasius Tucker. Still working part-time for Brigdens commercial studio, he was temporarily transferred to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1919. While in Toronto, Comfort joined the Arts and Letters Club, taking life-study classes and meeting members of the

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an Intergovernmentalism, intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non- ...

. Comfort visited the Group's inaugural 1920 exhibition, which inspired Comfort to work on landscape paintings, a theme he continued throughout his lifetime. Comfort returned to Winnipeg in 1922 for his first exhibition of

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...

at the

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

. During this time, he met

Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald L.L. D. also known as L. L. FitzGerald (March 17, 1890 – August 5, 1956) was a Canadians, Canadian artist and art educator. He was the only member of the Group of Seven (artists), Group of Seven based in western Canada. ...

and Walter J. Phillips. It was not until 1925 that Comfort painted his first oil painting, when he returned to Toronto where he befriended Will Ogilvie, who may have influenced his switch to oil. In 1928 he painted a striking watercolour portrait of violinist Alexander Chuhaldin with his

Amati Amati (, ) is the last name of a family of Italian violin makers who lived at Cremona from about 1538 to 1740. Their importance is considered equal to those of the Bergonzi, Guarneri, and Stradivari families. Today, violins created by Nico ...

violin, with a copy of the

Natalia Goncharova Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (, ; 3 July 188117 October 1962) was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designer, writer, illustrator, and set designer. Goncharova's lifelong partner was fellow Russian avant-garde artist Mikhail Lariono ...

set design for '' Le Coq d'Or'' in the background (painting now in the Art Gallery of Hamilton).

Mid-career and work as a war artist

Comfort was commissioned to design a

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

for Toronto's North American Life Building in 1932, the first in many he completed. The following year he met the American Precisionist

Charles Sheeler Charles Sheeler (July 16, 1883 – May 7, 1965) was an American artist known for his Precisionism, Precisionist paintings, commercial photographer, commercial photography, and the 1921 avant-garde film, ''Manhatta'', which he made in collaboratio ...

. One of the artist's most celebrated works, ''Tadoussac'' of 1935, suggests the influence of Sheeler due to its clear crisp colours and shapes. In the 1930s, Comfort worked in commercial illustrator as well as a teacher at the Ontario College of Art and Design from 1935 to 1938. In 1936, Comfort rented a studio next to a room occupied by A. Y. Jackson, in the Studio Building, a building made famous by the

artists, and the following year he designed the exterior frieze and interior murals for the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; ) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the List of stock exchanges, 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in th ...

In 1937, he was commissioned by the International Nickel Company to produce a 2x6m centrepiece work entitled "The Romance of Nickel" for the Paris Exhibition; it now hangs in the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

. Comfort was one of the organizers of the 1941 Kingston Conference, a meeting of Canadian artists to discuss the role of art in society as well as other issues facing the arts at the time. He also helped to initiate Canada's World War II War Art program, serving as an Official Second World War artist. He joined the Canadian Army (Active) in February 1943. During this time he painted widely in the south of England before joining the 1 Canadian Infantry Division in Italy, travelling by sea in November 1943 with the field historian Samuel Hughes. He served as a war artist from that date until July 1946, holding the rank of major. There he painted principally the Ortona and Liri Valley battles before returning to the United Kingdom in August 1944. He visited North-West Europe for some weeks in 1945. In 1956, he had published ''Artist at War'', a book he wrote about his experiences. He returned to academic life after the war teaching mural painting at the Ontario College of Art, and later became Professor of Art and Archeology,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

until 1960. He taught primarily painting techniques, including mural-painting, and other studio courses later in his career at the university. Comfort was a founding member of the

Federation of Canadian Artists The Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) is an association of artists in Canada founded in Toronto in 1941. The FCA soon had chapters across the country, and was one of the main forces behind formation of the Canada Council in 1957. After this, the ...

and contributed to the 1951 Massey Report, which led to the founding of the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

, an organization that Comfort helped establish. In 1954 he was one of eighteen Canadian artists commissioned by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

to paint a

for the interior of one of the new Park cars entering service on the new ''

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

'' transcontinental train. Each of the murals depicted a different national or provincial park; Comfort's was

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous ter ...

. He also created murals for the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

Montreal Central Station Montreal Central Station (, ) is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Nearly 11 million rail passengers use the station every year, making it the second-busiest train station in Canada, af ...

Director of the National Gallery of Canada 1960-1965

After the war, Comfort served on the Board of Directors and various committees at the

Art Gallery of Toronto The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...

, and was Director of the

from 1959 until 1965. During his time as the Director of the National Gallery of Canada, he helped the National Gallery of Canada move into the Lorne building in 1960. He was also a member of the

Canadian Society of Graphic Art Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour The Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (), founded in 1925, is considered to be Canada's official national watercolour Society. Since the 1980s the Society has enjoyed Vice-regal Patronage from the incumbent Governor General of Canada. Re ...

, and

Canadian Group of Painters The Canadian Group of Painters (CGP) was a collective of 28 painters from across Canada who came together as a group in 1933. Its Archives is in Queen's University, Kingston. Formation The Canadian Group of Painters succeeded the disbanded Grou ...

, and held executive positions in a number of art organizations. He received an honorary doctorate from

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

in 1958. He was a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

. His extensive involvement during his life with artists' organizations indicates his strong belief in the importance of art integrated with society. In 1972, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Commissions

Charles Fraser Comfort was commissioned to paint a posthumous 3/4 length portrait of No. 1557 Colonel William Reginald Sawyer, Director of Studies 1948-1967 standing in front of the Mackenzie Building and the Stone Frigate in his academic robes for the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

First Nations criticism

The

commissioned ''Captain Vancouver'' for

Hotel Vancouver The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, formerly and still informally called the Hotel Vancouver, is a historic hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. Located along West Georgia Street the hotel is situated within the city's Financial District, in Downto ...

in 1939. After months of research and planning, Comfort decided to depict a hypothetical encounter between

Captain George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts ...

and an unnamed Indian chief at a

potlatch A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States,Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Scienc ...

ceremony. Comfort researched the clothing of the era and consulted Aboriginal anthropologist Dr.

Marius Barbeau Charles Marius Barbeau, (March 5, 1883 – February 27, 1969), also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadians, Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthr ...

and others. The painting was removed in 1969 when the hotel was renovated. The wife of Governor General of Canada

Roland Michener Daniel Roland Michener (April 19, 1900 – August 6, 1991) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the 20th governor general of Canada from 1967 to 1974. Michener was born and educated in Alberta. In 1917 he served briefl ...

discovered the work after it was briefly misplaced and donated it to the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

. From this time aboriginal viewers have raised concern over the representation of the First Nations people, as Captain Vancouver physically stands triumphantly over the aboriginal men. In 1997, Kwakiutl artist

David Neel David Anthony Neel (born April 7, 1960) is a Canadian writer, photographer, and artist who is a member of the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation of coastal British Columbia. Background Neel was born on April 7, 1960, in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is ...

made the ''Captain Vancouver Portrait Mask'', a carved mixed-media mask of the captain. Neel made this work to critique the mural and its depiction of First Nations history and society. Also in 1997, Edmonton-based artist

Jane Ash Poitras Jane Ash Poitras LL. D. D.Litt (born October 11, 1951) is a Cree painter and printmaker from Canada. Her work uses the idioms of mainstream art to express the experience of Aboriginal people in Canada. Life Jane Ash Poitras was born in Fort Ch ...

painted a new mural representing the same scene with the intention to critique and re-negotiate Comfort's depiction of First Nations people.

Notes

References

* * ''Charles Fraser Comfort: fifty years'' Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1972. * ''Charles Fraser Comfort, the war years.'' Ottawa : Canadian War Museum, 1979. * Gray, Margaret. ''Charles Comfort'' Agincourt, Ontario: Gage Pub., c1976. * Hughes, Mary Jo. ''Take Comfort: The Career of Charles Comfort.'' Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2007. * * Reid, Dennis ''A Concise History of Canadian Painting'' 2nd Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1988. . * Mary Jo Hughes, Take Comfort: The Career of Charles Comfort (Winnipeg, MN: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2007). * Art Gallery of Ontario, Charles Comfort: Lake Superior Village (Toronto, ON: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1991-1992). * Anthony R. Westbridge, The Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction- Volume One: A-F ( Vancouver, B.C.: Westbridge Publications Ltd., 1999). * Memberships: PRCA, OSA, CSGA, CSPWC, MSA, FRSA, CGP, Arts & Letters Club * Exhibitions: RCA (1925-70), AAM (1927-39), NGC, Group of Seven (1925), CSPWC, CGP, International exhibitions in France, New Zealand and the United States

External links

Paintings by Charles ComfortInterview with Charles Comfort