Robert Stewart Hyndman (June 28, 1915 – November 29, 2009) was a distinguished

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 ...

portrait and landscape artist based in the National Capital Region. His career spanned more than 70 years.

Early life

Born in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada, Hyndman attended a primary school

Shawnigan Lake School Shawnigan Lake School is a co-educational independent boarding school located on Vancouver Island in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded by Englishman Christopher Lonsdale, Christopher Windley "C. W." Lonsdale in 1916 and was p ...

on Vancouver Island from 1928 to 1931. He moved with his family to

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 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 ...

in 1933. He received his early training at the

Central Technical School Central Technical School is a Canadian composite high school in Toronto, Ontario. The school is run by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB); before 1998, it was run by the Toronto Board of Education (TBE). Central Tech is located in the H ...

in Toronto with Carl Schaefer and Charles Goldhamer. After graduating in 1937, Hyndman followed the lead of other young North American artists and moved to

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to continue his studies at the Central School for Arts and Crafts (now the

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

War service

With war looming, Hyndman returned to Canada in 1939 and joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

(RCAF) in June, 1940. He served as a flight instructor at Uplands Airport in Ottawa from 1941–1943. From 1943 until 1944, Hyndman was stationed at Biggin Hill, England and flew Spitfires on bombing runs over the English Channel as part of RCAF 411 Squadron, 126 Wing. Hyndman’s drawings of his experiences caught the attention of government officials.

Official war artist

Following his tour retirement (Hyndman flew 155 missions over France and the Netherlands) in September 1944, he was appointed an Official Second World War artist.Robert Stewart Hyndman,"
''Globe and Mail'' (Toronto). January 9, 2010. Hyndman created a total of 68 paintings during his appointment. By war's end, Hyndman had painted most of the Canadian military’s senior commanders and many of the fighter aces of the RCAF. While portraits formed the bulk of his production, he also captured his experiences as a pilot. Some of his works can be seen as part of the Beaverbrook War Art Collection’s touring ''Canvas of War'' exhibit, as well as on permanent display at the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (CWM) () is a National museums of Canada, national museum on the military history of Canada, country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military hist ...

in Ottawa.

Post-war career

Following World War II, Hyndman resettled in Ottawa where he embarked upon a successful career as a painter of portraits and murals. The

Britannia Yacht Club The Britannia Yacht Club (BYC) is a private social club, yacht club, and tennis club based in Britannia, a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1887 by a group of cottagers. The BYC is located on an extension of land at ...

collection of Hyndman's portraits of former Club Commodores includes the late Reg Bruce and his wife displayed in Bruce Neuk. The collection of 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 ...

includes Hyndman's works. He also passed on his love of painting to others as a teacher. He taught at the

Banff School of Fine Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the performing and fine arts, as well as leadership training. It was established in 193 ...

for eight summers (1964–1972), at

Elmwood School (Ottawa) Elmwood School is a private day school for girls located in Rockcliffe Park in the city of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1915 and is an International Baccalaureate World School. Elmwood School was the first school in North Am ...

(1966–71) and at the

Ottawa School of Art The Ottawa School of Art is a non-profit art school in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school offers a one-year certificate program, a three-year diploma program, art camps, and general interest courses, as well as providing exhibition sp ...

(1971–2007).

Recognition

In 2000, he received the Art & Heritage Award from the City of Ottawa, and in 2001, on the 100th Anniversary of the election of Canadian former Prime Minister Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

, he presented his portrait of Prime Minister Laurier to then Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

. In 2003, he received the Victor Tolgesy Award from the City of Ottawa.

Notes

References

* Gessel, Paul
"The art of living long,"
''Ottawa Citizen.'' January 6, 2009; "Robert Hyndman," ''Ottawa Citizen.'' December 4, 2009.
Robert Stewart Hyndman,"
''Globe and Mail'' (Toronto). January 9, 2010. * Morse, Jennifer
"War Art: Robert Hyndman,"
''Legion Magazine.'' March 1, 2002.

External links

Ottawa School of Art RetrospectiveWayne Ralph – Author of Aces, Warriors & Wingmen : Firsthand Accounts of Canada’s Fighter Pilots in the Second World War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyndman, Robert 1915 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 21st-century Canadian painters Canadian landscape painters Canadian portrait painters Artists from Edmonton Artists from Ottawa World War II artists 20th-century Canadian war artists 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists Shawnigan Lake School alumni