William Abernethy Ogilvie, (March 3, 1901 – August 28, 1989) was a

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 ...

painter and Official Second World War artist.

Early life

Ogilvie came to Canada in 1925 and after living in

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 ...

, went to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

from 1925–1930 to study at the

Art Students League 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 ...

with

Kimon Nicolaïdes Kimon Nicolaїdes (June 10, 1891 – July 18, 1938) was an American artist, educator, and author. During World War I, he served in the United States Army in France as a camouflage artist. He taught at the Art Students League of New York after ...

, the author later of an important text on drawing, ''The Natural Way to Draw'' (1941). He worked briefly in New York as a commercial artist before returning to Toronto and joining

Charles Comfort Charles Fraser Comfort, LL. D. (July 22, 1900 – July 5, 1994) was a Scottish-born Canadian painter, sculptor, teacher, writer and administrator. Career and biography Early life Born near Edinburgh, Scotland, Comfort moved to Winnipeg in ...

and Harold Ayres in a company which offered diverse skills, part advertising, part magazine illustration. In 1933, he was one of the founders of the

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 from 1933–1989, he was also a member of the

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 ...

. In 1936, he did murals for the Chapel of Hart House, University of Toronto.

War artist

After working at the

Art Association of Montreal The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street west. The MMFA ...

, Ogilvie joined the Canadian army in 1940 and was commissioned as the first Official

War artist A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Imperial War Museum (IWM)header phrase, "war shapes lives" ...

in 1942. Attached to the

1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short notice, and is staffed and ...

, he made the first significant art work in an active theatre of war, nearly always under fire. From 1943 on, he was in Sicily, mainland Italy and Northwest Europe. His paintings of the ruined buildings at Caen in Normandy, the Falaise Gap, and refugees are memorable.

Later career

After the war, Ogilvie taught at the Ontario College of Art (1947–1957) and as special lecturer at the department of fine art at the University of Toronto (1960–1969). His work has been widely exhibited and collected, most notably by 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 ...

. He lived for the latter part of his life in

Palgrave, Ontario Palgrave is a Compact Rural Community and unincorporated place in the Town of Caledon, Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It is about north of Bolton and about northwest of Toronto. Palgrave is located ...

Honours

For his work as a war artist, he was awarded the M.B.E. (Military). In 1979, he was made a member 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 ...

as well as 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 ...

Notes

Bibliography

*
Will Ogilvie fonds
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...