John Hooper, (1926 – 26 January 2006) was an English-born Canadian sculptor known for his colourful

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

d wood carvings.Sculptor John Hooper dies
,

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

, 28 January 2006. His works can be found on public display in many locations throughout Canada and worldwide.

Biography

Born in England, Hooper also spent time in his youth in China, and served as a captain in the British Army in India in 1944.John Hooper
, City of Vancouver Public Art Registry. Hooper was educated at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

and Bournemouth College of Art (now

The Arts Institute at Bournemouth Arts University Bournemouth (abbreviated AUB) is a public university in Poole, England, specialising in art, architecture, film, performance, and design. Established in 1880, the university has been ranked Silver and Gold by the Teaching Excell ...

),Public art finds a home at Pilgrim School
", Advertising supplement to Los Angeles Business Journal, 8 July 2002. and studied with sculptor

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American and British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1910. Early in his ...

.The World of John Hooper
, announcement for a show in the Arts and Culture Centre, Saint John, New Brunswick, 19 March 1998, with a brief biographical sketch of Hooper.A Tribute to John Hooper
Bob Hinman, Reflections – A Magazine By and For Retired Teachers, Vol. XXIII, No. 3, Spring 2006. After teaching at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

in South Africa from 1956 to 1962, he moved to

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada, where he lived for the rest of his life, for many years working as a school teacher and administrator before devoting himself full-time to art in 1974. Hooper was married to Kathy, an artist from South Africa who herself won the Strathbutler Award in 1994. With her he had four children and founded Hooper Studios, a centre for art and art education in

Hampton, New Brunswick Hampton is a town in Kings County, New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fu ...

Works on public display

Image:JohnHooperBalancing.jpg, "Balancing" outside the

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Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario File:Terry Fox, statue, Ottawa.jpg,

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

File:"People Waiting" Statue created by John Hooper.jpg, "People Waiting" in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

Hooper's art can be seen in Market Square and outside the

, in

Sinclair Centre Sinclair Centre is an upscale shopping mall in Downtown Vancouver, Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. It is located at 757 Hastings Street (Vancouver), West Hastings Street between Granville Street, Granville and Howe streets. The centre compri ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, at the Centennial Building in

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

, and in several places around

,Persona non grata
,

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

, 12 April 2004. News story about the uncertain fate of Hooper's sculptures at the Saint John's post office. and at the Pilgrim School in

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. The

New Brunswick Museum The New Brunswick Museum, located in Saint John, New Brunswick, is Canada's oldest continuing museum. The New Brunswick Museum was incorporated as the "Provincial Museum" in 1929 and received its current name in 1930, but its history goes back muc ...

houses several more of his works as does the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. His bronze statue of Terry Fox stands on Wellington Street in Ottawa, across the street from the national Parliament Buildings.

Awards and honours

In 1991, Hooper was the first recipient of the

Strathbutler Award The Strathbutler Award is a biennial prize awarded to a New Brunswick visual artist. It was first awarded in 1991 as an annual prize of $10,000, which increased to $15,000 in 2005. In 2011 it became a biennial award with a value of $25,000, the h ...

For Fine Craft And Visual Arts, a $10,000 annual award given by the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation for New Brunswick artists.Sandra Flood, "Five New Brunswick Artists: Strathbutler Award, 1991–1995", Goose Lane Editions, 1997, . In 2000, he won the Miller Brittain Award for Excellence in Visual Arts from the New Brunswick Art Board.Past Award Recipients
, New Brunswick Art Board He was made 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 ...

. On 27 April 2000, 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 ...

.Investiture of the Order of Canada at Rideau Hall
, Canadian Governor-General's Office, 10 November 2000.

References

Additional sources

John Hooper, Hooper Studios. *
John Hooper's Way With Wood
(1977), an 18-minute documentary sponsored by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

, on

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

. * Tom Smart, "L'univers de John Hooper", Goose Lane Editions, 2001, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, John 1926 births 2006 deaths Officers of the Order of Canada English emigrants to Canada British Army officers Alumni of Arts University Bournemouth Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 20th-century Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors 20th-century Canadian male artists British Army personnel of World War II