Charles Pachter (born December 30, 1942) is a Canadian contemporary artist. He is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, historian, and lecturer. He studied French literature at the
Sorbonne, art history at the
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 ...
, and painting and graphics at the
Cranbrook Academy of Art
The Cranbrook Academy of Art, a graduate school for architecture, art, and design, was founded by George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth in 1932. It is the art school of the Cranbrook Educational Community. Located in Bloomfield Hills, Mi ...
in
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is ...
. He holds honorary doctorates from Lakehead University, Brock University, the
Ontario College of Art & Design
Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD U, is a public university, public art school, art university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its main campus is located within Toronto's Grange Park (neighbourh ...
and the
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 ...
(2010). He was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 1999, and promoted to Officer in 2011.
Pachter's work has been shown at the
Art Gallery of Ontario
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 ...
, the
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
, and the
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection (MCAC) is an art museum in Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located on a property in Kleinburg, an unincorporated village in Vaughan. The property includes the museum's main building, a sculpture gar ...
, Kleinburg. His mural, ''Hockey Knights in Canada, Les Rois de l'Arène'', can be seen at Toronto's
College subway station, where the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
face the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
across the tracks.
Pachter lives and works beside
Grange Park in an award-winning residence and studio designed by
Stephen Teeple. Since that construction, from 2019 to 2022, a new 3 storey wing was added on on an additional derelict property that was beside it. His work is on permanent display in his adjoining Moose Factory gallery. His work has influenced a generation of young Canadian artists, including the sculptor
Harley Valentine. A number of his pieces have also featured
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
,
Queen of Canada
The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is one of the key components of Canadian sovereignty and sits at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Wes ...
, and other members of the
royal family
A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family.
The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
. Pachter met the Queen at
Canada House
Canada House () is a Greek Revival building on Trafalgar Square in London. It has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1970. It has served as the Chancery (diplomacy), chancery of the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom since 192 ...
in 2017. Asked about their conversation, Pachter recounted, "I said, 'Your Majesty, 43 years ago I painted you as the Queen of Canada seated sidesaddle on a moose and, thanks to you, I have made a living all these years.' She beamed and said, 'How amusing!'"
The highest selling price at auction for a piece of his work might be $79,250, including the premium, for “Red Barn” at Heffel in January 2022. Size was 30’x40’.
Early in his life, Charles appeared as Johnny in the short film "Johnny at the Fair". It was later featured and riffed on ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...
'' in Season 4.
Awards
*Officer of the Order of Canada
*Chevalier of France's Order of Arts and Letters
* Queen's Jubilee medal
* Order of Ontario
References
External links
Pachter Hall and Moose Factory ''Artnet''
"Charles Pachter" ''Askart''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pachter, Charles
University of Paris alumni
Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni
1942 births
Living people
20th-century Canadian painters
Canadian male painters
21st-century Canadian painters
Canadian designers
Artists from Toronto
Officers of the Order of Canada
Members of the Order of Ontario
20th-century Canadian sculptors
Canadian male sculptors
20th-century Canadian male artists
20th-century Canadian printmakers
21st-century Canadian male artists
Jewish Canadian artists
Canadian LGBTQ artists
21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people
20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people