"A human lifetime is such a brief. transient moment in the scale of time that, having been afforded the privilege of living through what may prove to be "the hinge" that connects the conclusion of a mature civilization and the "blast-off" into a completely new and, as yet unknown, cultural identity, I rise from the table, address myself to my host and say, "Thank you for this rare feast."
Charles Comfort
Charles Fraser Comfort was born in Cramond, a town near Edinburgh, Scotland. Due to family finances, when he was three, he was sent to England for six years to live with his maternal grandmother. Charles showed a natural inclination for art and won his first art contest at the age of 8.
In 1912, his family moved near Winnipeg, Manitoba and at the age of fourteen Charles Comfort won another art contest where the judge was artist Frederick Henry Brigden. Recognizing his talent, Brigden’s commercial art firm hired Comfort, where he worked off and on over the years. Comfort enrolled in the Winnipeg School of Art, and then extended his learning by enrolling in the Art Students' League in New York where he studied under E. Allen Tucker, Vincent Dumond & Robert Henri. After his return to Canada, Comfort was transferred to the Toronto office of Brigden’s in 1925.
Charles Comfort; Stoney Lake, 1925
After arriving in Toronto, Charles Comfort was encouraged by Group of Seven member Lawren Harris to submit his work to the Royal Canadian Academy (RCA) exhibition, and he continued exhibiting at RCA until 1970. Comfort’s career in fine art and commercial art thrived, and from 1943 to 1946 he became an official war artist.
In 1947, his "Algonquin Lake" painting was selected to be included in the Sampson Matthews series of silkscreens. Two years later, Comfort co-founded the Massey Commission, which highlighted concerns about the dangers of Canadian reliance on American culture and the need to protect the Canadian national identity. Throughout his career he was eager to learn from both past and present artists, and would apply his new found knowledge through experimentation with a variety of mediums. In 1953 he was chosen to design the landscape scenes for the back of new dollar bills that featured the newly coronated Queen Elizabeth II.
Charles Comfort; Algonquin Lake, 1947
In the 1960’s Comfort created one of the largest murals in Canada for the Toronto Dominion Bank (64 ft. long by 10 ft. high). Comfort taught at the Ontario College of Art and the University of Toronto, as well as served as the Director of the National Gallery from 1959-1965. His wide range of contributions over multiple decades left a lasting impression on the Canadian cultural landscape. Comfort was married to his wife Louise for seven decades and he described her as his greatest supporter and his greatest critic.
Influences: Frederick Henry Brigden, The Group of Seven, Charles Sheeler, Tom Thomson, Charles Sheeler, John Piper, Henry Moore
Friends/Associates: Will Ogilvie, Caven Atkins, Philip Surrey, Fritz Brandtner, George A. Reid, Eric Berman, L.L. Fitzgerald, W.J. Phillips, Harold Ayres, Carl Schaefer, Bertram Booker
Students: Russell Harper, Canadian art curator; Dr. Gerald Finlay, art historian; Jean Sutherland Boggs, Director of the National Gallery
Memberships: PRCA, OSA, CSGA, CSPWC, MSA, FRSA, CGP, Arts & Letters Club
Exhibitions: RCA (1925-70), AAM (1927-39), NGC, Group of Seven (1925), CSPWC, CGP, International exhibitions in France, New Zealand and the United States
Anthony R. Westbridge, The Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction- Volume One: A-F ( Vancouver, B.C.: Westbridge Publications Ltd., 1999).
Art Gallery of Ontario, Charles Comfort: Lake Superior Village (Toronto, ON: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1991-1992).
Mary Jo Hughes, Take Comfort: The Career of Charles Comfort (Winnipeg, MN: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2007).