Charles Pachter
Artist Summary
Charles Pachter is ONE of Canada’s leading contemporary artists. Charles is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, historian, and lecturer.
Full Biography
BIOGRAPHY
ONE of Canada’s leading contemporary artists, Charles Pachter is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, historian, and lecturer.
Born in Toronto in 1942, he studied art history at the University of Toronto, French literature at the Sorbonne, and painting and graphics at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.
His work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the McMichael Gallery. He is represented in public and private collections throughout Canada, and internationally. He has held solo exhibitions in France, Germany, Japan, the UK, India, and Bangladesh.
He worked at Expo 67 in Montreal supervising the installation of 60 contemporary sculptures from around the world. He taught printmaking at the University of Calgary in 1969-70. He spearheaded Toronto’s Queen Street West revival in the 1970s and 80s by restoring 20 old buildings into facilities for arts usage.
He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier of France’s Order of Arts and Letters, a member of the Order of Ontario, and holds honorary doctorates from Brock University, OCAD University, the University of Toronto, and Lakehead University. He is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals.
His images of the queen, moose, and maple leaf flag are icons of Canadian contemporary art. McClelland & Stewart publications include an illustrated book on his life and work authored by Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov. His murals of Hockey Knights in Canada can be seen in Toronto’s College Subway Station.
Mr. Pachter lives and works in downtown Toronto in an award-winning studio designed by Canadian architect Stephen Teeple. His work is on permanent display in his adjoining Moose Factory Gallery. From 2004-2014 in summer he painted in The ICE HOUSE, a waterfront studio converted from a 1920s ice storage depot on Lake Simcoe. His works are also displayed in MOFO – Moose Factory of Orillia- a former car repair garage he renovated in the heart of the historic Ontario hometown of Steven Leacock, Elizabeth Wyn Wood, Franklin Carmichael, and Gordon Lightfoot.
His paintings are in the Portrait Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Embassy in Washington, Canada House in London, the Parliament Buildings, the Prime Minister’s residence, and the Embassy of France in Ottawa. His solo exhibition on “The Loyalist Legacy and the Creation of Modern English Canada” was installed in the Charterhouse in London, Aug-Sept 2016, and a retrospective, “Quintessential Canadian”, was held at the Bangladesh National Museum in Dhaka, Feb 2018.
Pachter’s steel and granite moose sculptures have been installed across Canada.
His best-selling children’s books, M is for Moose, and Canada Counts, and The Illustrated Journals of Susanna Moodie, his celebrated collaboration with poet Margaret Atwood, are published by Cormorant Books, Toronto.
Leonard Wise’s biography “CHARLES PACHTER: Canada’s Artist” was published by Dundurn Press in 2-17
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EDUCATION AND HONOURS
Diplômé de l’ESPPPFE, Sorbonne, Paris, 1963
Honours BA, Fine Art , University of Toronto, 1964
MFA, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan, 1966
Honorary Doctorate, Brock University, St. Catharines, 1996
Member, Order of Canada 1999
Officer, Order of Canada, 2012
Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, France, 2001
Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal 2002
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012
Honorary Doctorate, Ontario College of Art & Design University, 2009
Honorary Doctorate, University of Toronto, 2010
Senior Fellow, Massey College, University of Toronto 2011
Recipient of the Order of Ontario, 2015
Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, 2017
Honorary Doctorate, Lakehead University, 2019
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
LEST WE FORGET
Paintings commemorating the World War One Armistice
Art Gallery of Northumberland, Cobourg Ont, Sept-Nov 2018
Art Gallery of Guelph Nov 2020-Jan 2021
PORTRAIT OF A NATION, Charles Pachter Survey Exhibition,
Midland Cultural Centre , Midland Ont June-Aug 2018
QUINTESSENTIAL CANADIAN
Retrospective, Bangladesh National Museum, Dhaka Feb 2018
OF MOOSE AND MONARCHS
Retrospective, Art Gallery of Peterborough
Jul 8 -Sept 24, 2017
Charles Pachter: THE CRANBROOK YEARS
Atwood-Pachter handmade books 1964-1966
May 20 – October 1, 2017 • Art Gallery of Windsor
WHAT MAKES THIS COUNTRY TICK,
PAMA- Peel Art Museum & Archives, Brampton ON
Apr 1-June 11 2017
ICONIC MOMENTS
The Charterhouse, London UK Aug-Sept 2016
Alliance Française, Toronto, Sept-Oct 2015
The Spoke Club, Toronto April-May 2015
Michael Gibson Gallery, London Ontario, Dec 2014
Oeno Gallery, Prince Edward County, Ontario Oct 2014
LEST WE FORGET 16 paintings commemorating the First World War
Lieutenant-Governor’s Suite, Queen’s Park, Toronto June 2014 – Aug 2015
THE ART OF WAR:DRESSED TO KILL, Fort York National Historic SIte, Toronto 2013-14
POP GOES CANADIANA – ICONIC ART BY CHARLES PACHTER
Enterprise Square Galleries, University of Alberta, Edmonton Nov 1-30 2013
LANDMARKS – ORILLIA MUSEUM OF ART & HISTORY July –Aug 2013
A-R-T, The Art of Charles Pachter Art Gallery of Sudbury, Apr-June 2013
1812:THE ART OF WAR, Moose Factory Gallery, Toronto, May – Oct 2012
SELECTED WORKS, Train Station Gallery, Brantford ON Sep 8-31, 2012
MONARCHS OF THE NORTH, Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts, Collingwood ON, June 9-23, 2012
THE PACHTER FACTOR, The Art Space, Huntsville ON July 2011
MOUNTAIN GALLERIES, Whistler BC, Feb 2010
LUMINATO, Toronto Roots & Four Seasons Hotel, June -Aug 2010
COLDWATER GALLERY, Coldwater, Ontario Sep-Oct 2009
THE JOURNALS OF SUSANNA MOODIE, poems of Margaret Atwood illustrated by Charles Pachter, McMichael Canadian Collection, July-Oct 2009
MYTHOLOGIES, Paintings 1964-2008, Elmwood Spa, May5-June 7, 2009
CHARLES PACHTER’S CANADA (II), Royal Ontario Museum, Oct 07-Feb 08
DUCKS REDUX, The Ice House, Lake Simcoe, Ont. summer 2007
GLIMPSES OF INDIA, Canadian High Commission, Delhi Jan 07
DES REGARDS SUR L’INDE, Alliance Française de Delhi, Jan 07
REGARDING THE LAKE Orillia Museum of Art & History, Jun 29-Sep 4 06
SELECTED WORKS, Pachter Hall, Toronto Nov-Dec 05
SELECTED WORKS The Spoke Club, Toronto, Sep 5 – 26 05
CANADIAN ICONS: Maggie’s Gallery, London ONT, Oct 26 04 – Mar 12 05
CHARLES PACHTER Retrospective, SPIN GALLERY, Toronto May-June 04
L’ETRE AU MONDE, Centre d’art de Baie St Paul, Qc Sep-Nov 01
“MIND’S EYE”, Canadian Embassy, Tokyo, April-June, 2001
TEDCity Conference, St Lawrence Centre,Toronto June 2000
GRAPHIC WORKS, Design Exchange, Toronto Feb-Aug 2000
“Charles Pachter Portraits”, Univ. of Toronto Art Centre June 98-Apr 99
“The Barns Exhibit”, Moose Factory, Toronto Dec 97-Nov 98
“La Transhumance”, Alliance Française,Toronto Sept-Oct 96
“In Pachter’s Orbit”, CN Tower, Toronto, June-Oct 95 “
Pachter West”, Barton-Leier Gallery, Victoria BC, Nov 94
“Pachter’s People”, Movenpick Gallery, Toronto May-July 94
“Charles Pachter’s Canada”, Royal Ontario Museum Feb -Sept 94
“Licht im Schatten” Haus an der Redoute Retrospective, Bonn, Germany 92
Stichill Smithy Gallery, Kelso, Scotland 91
“La Lumière Ombre” , Centre d’Art Présence Van Gogh, St Rémy de Provence, France Oct 91-Feb 92
Inniskillin Loft Gallery, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario 91
The Summit, Canada Trust, Toronto 91
Castle Hill, Toronto 90
La Citadelle, Montreal 88
Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto 87
Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax 87
Alliance Française Inaugural Exhibition , Toronto 87
Gallery Moos, Toronto 86
Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary 86
“Regarding the Flag”, Ontario Science Centre, Toronto 85
“Waterworks”, Queen’s Quay Terminal, Toronto 84
Ontario House, London, U.K. 84
Gallery Brand, Oakville 84
St. Lawrence Centre, Toronto 84
“The Journals of Susanna Moodie” , Art Gallery of Ontario 84
Mövenpick Gallery, Toronto 84
Harbourfront Gallery, Toronto 82
Tom Thomson Gallery, Owen Sound 82
“The Painted Flag” IGA Gallery, Toronto 81
PORTRAITS Lynwood Art Gallery, Simcoe 81
Ring Gallery, Toronto 80
“Figures in a Landscape”, Soho Loft Gallery, Toronto 79
St. Lawrence College, Kingston 76
Artery, Artists Alliance, Toronto 75
“Monarchs of the North”, University of Ottawa 75
University of Toronto 75
McMaster University, Hamilton 74
York University, Toronto 74
Algonquin College, Ottawa 73
The Other Shaw Festival, Toronto 73
“Streetcars” , The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto 72
Canadian Art Galleries, Calgary 70
Trent University, Peterborough 69
McGill University, Montreal 68
Gallery Pascal, Toronto 68 & 70
Victoria University, Toronto 68
The Pollock Gallery, Toronto 64
Selected PUBLIC & CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
Algonquin College, Ottawa
Art Gallery of Hamilton
Art Gallery of Peterborough
Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Windsor
Atkinson McLeod, Toronto
Barometer Capital Management, Toronto
Beaverbrook Gallery, Fredericton NB
Bristol Myers Limited, Toronto
Canada Department of External Affairs, Ottawa
Canada House, London
Canada Pension Plan Offices, London UK
Catalyst Capital
Canada Permanent Trust
Canadian Embassy, Washington
Canadian Embassy, Berlin
Canadian High Commission, London
Canadiana Fund, Ottawa
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Canadian Music Centre, Toronto
Centre d’Art Présence Van Gogh, St. Rémy de Provence, France
Citicorp Limited, Toronto
City of Boston
City of Toronto
Claridge Collection, Montreal
The Clarkson Company
The Co-Operators Insurance Group
Coca-Cola Canada
Concordia University, Montreal
Connor-Clark Investments,Toronto
Counsel Trust, Toronto
Credit Suisse Canada
A.J. Diamond Associates Architects, Toronto
Davies Ward Phillips Vineberg, Toronto
Dominion Securities Pitfield, Toronto
Encana Corporation, Calgary
Epitome Pictures, Toronto
Goodman and Goodman, Toronto
Gordon Capital Corporation, Toronto
Granite Club, Toronto
Harvard University
Hudson’s Bay Company
Hiram Walker Brands Limited, Toronto
Hudson’s Bay Company, Toronto
Imperial Life Assurance Company of Canada
Kinderdine Art Gallery, Saskatoon
Laurentian University, Sudbury
Maclean-Hunter, Toronto
Manulife Financial, Toronto
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Toronto
Massey College, University of Toronto
McGill University, Montreal
McMichael Collection of Canadian Art, Kleinburg
McMillan Binch, Toronto
Memorial University, St. John’s
Metropolitan Toronto Library
Mohawk College
Mount Allison University, N.B.
Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto
Musée d’art contemporain, Montreal
National Library, Ottawa
New Brunswick Museum, St. John
Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary
Olympia and York Developments, Toronto
Onex Corporation
Ontario College of Art & Design University
Panasonic of Canada, Toronto
Peel Art Museum & Archives, Brampton
Pforzheimer Library, New York
Portrait Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa
The Rooms, St. John’s NL
Stratford Shakespearean Festival
Thomson Newspapers,
Toronto Dominion Bank
The Toronto Sun
Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Western Hospital
Touche Associates, Calgary
Trent University, Peterborough
Unicorp Canada Corporation
Unicorp American Corporation
University of Alberta, Edmonton
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
University of Calgary
University of Lethbridge, Alberta
Thomas Fisher Library, University of Toronto
University of Western Ontario
Viking Air, Victoria, BC
The Washington Post
Westbury Life Insurance Company
Westwind Partners, Toronto & London
York University
Yorkton Securities, Toronto
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
FELLED TREES Canada House, London May-Sept 2017
FORM FOLLOWS FICTION, Art Museum of the University of Toronto, Sept-Nov 2016
THE SNOW SHOW Michael Gibson Gallery, London ON
Nov 30 2013 -Jan 10 2014
CINEMATIC, cinema-themed Graphics, Hyatt Regency, Toronto Sep-Dec 2012
STREETS ALIVE, Leacock Chair, Orillia ON June-Aug 2012
ROYAL PORTRAITS , Beaverbrook Museum, Fredericton NB, July-Oct 2011
Play>Nation, Design Exchange, Toronto, June -Oct 2011
The University College Collection, UofT Art Centre, Jan-Mar 2011
Janusz Dukszta Portraits, University of Toronto Art Centre, Oct-Dec 09
Canadian Icons, University of Toronto Art Centre, Oct-Dec 08
Arena: The Art of Hockey, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Apr-June 2008
Drawing Conclusions, McMichael Gallery, Kleinburg ON, Apr-Jun 08
Art of Nature, Green Living Show, Toronto April 07 -08
Miami International Art Fair Jan 99
Canadian Embassy, Washington (Hockey Knights in Canada) Nov 96-Feb 97
Italian Cultural Institute, Toronto (The Visitation) Feb-Mar 97
“The Simcoes and the Founding of Toronto”, Art Gallery of Ontario, July -Sept 93
Claridge Collection, 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Saidye Bronfman Centre, Montreal, Sept 92
Salon de Noël, Ville de Bollène, France 91
Art and The Games, Ontario Winter Games Invitational, Collingwood
Zen Buddhist Temple, Toronto Books by Artists, National Library, Ottawa 90
200th Anniversary Exhibition of the French Revolution,Alliance Francaise, Toronto 89
Living Impressions: Contemporary Canadian Graphics, Art Gallery of Hamilton
“Transinteractivity”, France-Canada Tele-video conference 88 “Interaction”,
Canadian Prints Touring Australia 85
Ontario Bicentennial Group Exhibition, Toronto
“Vestiges of Empire”, Camden Centre, London, U.K. 84
Sixth International Biennial of Humour and Satire in the Arts; Gabrovo, Bulgaria 83
Contemporary Handmade Books, National Gallery of Morocco, Rabat 82
“Post-Pop Realism”, The Winnipeg Perspective , Winnipeg Art Gallery
“Artists in Books”, National Library, Ottawa 81
“COLLINS/PACHTER/TINKL”, Art Gallery of Ontario 77
“Canadian Landscapes”,Department of External Affairs, Washington 75
GRAFF, Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris 72
International Print Biennale,Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo 72
Color Prints of the Americas, New Jersey State Museum 70
ESLER/PACHTER ESP, National Gallery of Canada 70
University of Calgary, Five Faculty 69
Canadian Society of Graphic Art 67 Canadian Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers 66
Artist’s Statement