Born in Wesleyville, Newfoundland, Blackwood came from a family of seafarers, with both his father and grandfather serving as ship captains. Growing up in a maritime environment became a central source of inspiration for the art he would later produce. Blackwood spent his childhood summers fishing along the Labrador coast on his father’s schooner, the Flora S. Nickerson. As a child, his talent for drawing was encouraged by those around him, one of his elementary teachers even bought him a paint set and urged him not to give up painting.
January Visit Home, 1975, etching and aquatint on wove paper by David Blackwood
Blackwood opened his first studio at the age of 15, and in 1959, he earned the Government of Newfoundland Centennial Scholarship to study at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. There, under instructors such as J.W.G. Macdonald and Carl Schaefer, he learned skills in printmaking and solidified his decision to make Newfoundland life the central subject of his art. After graduating in 1963, Blackwood launched his career as a professional artist with remarkable momentum. His print The Search Party (1963) was purchased and exhibited by the National Gallery of Canada in 1964, when he was only 23 years old. Shortly thereafter, he became the first artist-in-residence at Erindale College, now part of the University of Toronto, Mississauga.
Throughout his career, he created series of prints that combined narrative depth with technical mastery, most notably The Lost Party, a fifty-etching series portraying a provincial sealing disaster in 1914. His works earned both national and international attention, with exhibitions at the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, the National Gallery of Australia, and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. He also played a key role in founding an art gallery at Erindale College. In recognition of his contributions, the gallery was named The Blackwood Gallery when it opened in 1992, which preserves a major collection of his works.
Lone Mummer Inside, 1979. etching and aquatint on wove paper by David Blackwood
While talent and hard work might prove sufficient to get you through art school, survival as an artist in our contemporary world demands much more. To produce anything of lasting value requires a strong belief and love for what you do, and great patience. Establishing one's identity as a serious artist takes time, and then it requires fortitude to maintain that identity with any kind of integrity.
- David Blackwood, 1992
Blackwood dedicated decades to teaching, serving as a part time Art Master at Trinity College School in Port Hope from 1963 to 1988 which gave him enough spare time to work on his own studio art. His work was also captured in the 1976 National Film Board documentary Blackwood, which was nominated for an Academy Award and won multiple international film prizes.
Even though he lived in Ontario for much of his life, Blackwood’s art never left Newfoundland and Labrador. He was prolific, capturing the region’s fisheries, seal hunts, resettlement, shipwrecks, mummers, and everyday outport life. While his striking blue-black etchings became his hallmark, he later explored watercolours and oil tempera.
Blackwood’s contributions to Canadian art were recognized with numerous honors. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1993, received the Order of Ontario in 2002, and was the first practicing artist to be named Honorary Chairman of the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2003. He also held honorary degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Calgary. Over his lifetime, he participated in over 90 solo exhibitions, including major retrospectives such as Black Ice: David Blackwood, Prints of Newfoundland at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2011.
Wedding on Deer Island, 2022, etching, aquatint, colour washes, white pencil by David Blackwood
In 2000, the Art Gallery of Ontario acquired a significant collection of Blackwood’s prints and established the Blackwood Research Centre within the Marvin Gelber Print and Drawing Centre, positioning the AGO as the primary repository for the artist’s work.
Blackwood lived primarily in Port Hope later in life while maintaining a studio in Wesleyville, Newfoundland. He passed away on July 2, 2022, at the age of 80. His legacy endures through his compelling visual chronicle of Newfoundland life, his influence as an educator, and the widespread acclaim of his prints and paintings in public and private collections worldwide.
Consignment at Rookleys
At Rookleys Canadian Art, we are actively seeking works by David Blackwood for consignment, offering consignment rates far lower below what auction houses charge. If you have a painting by David Blackwood to consign, please contact us at info@rookleys.com to discuss these opportunities further.
Passing, 1978, colour etching and aquatint by David Blackwood
Sources
Art Gallery of Ontario. “Black Ice: David Blackwood, Prints of Newfoundland.” Art Gallery of Ontario. https://ago.ca/exhibitions/black-ice-david-blackwood-prints-newfoundland
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Foyer. “David Blackwood: Printing the Soul of Newfoundland.” Foyer, November 12, 2025. https://readfoyer.com/article/david-blackwood-printing-soul-newfoundland
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Foyer
“David Blackwood.” DavidBlackwood.com. https://www.davidblackwood.com/
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“David Blackwood (1941–2022).” Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site. Last modified 2022. https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/arts/david-blackwood.php
ReviewCanada. “Artist as a Young Man.” Canadian Review of Books, November 2022. https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2022/11/artist-as-a-young-man/
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Ross Funeral Chapel. “Book of Memories: Blackwood, David.” Ross Funeral Chapel. https://rossfuneralchapel.frontrunnerpro.com/book-of-memories/4976477/Blackwood‑David/index.php