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Construction of new 3-storey wing from June 2019 to Feb 2022
CHARLES PACHTER MUSEUM & Gallery
22 Grange Ave, Toronto M5T1C7
pachterc@gmail.com
OPEN BY APPOINTMENT 647 239 1700
A leading contemporary Canadian artist, Charles Pachter
is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, historian, and lecturer.
Born in Toronto Dec 30 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 recipient of the Order of Ontario.
He holds honorary doctorates from Brock University, OCAD University, the University of Toronto , and Lakehead University.
He has been awarded 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, CHARLES PACHTER by Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov, 1992.
His murals of Hockey Knights in Canada, installed in 1985, can be seen in Toronto’s College Subway Station.
Mr. Pachter lives and works in downtown Toronto in an award-winning studio and residence designed by Canadian architect Stephen Teeple.
His work is on permanent display in his adjoining Moose Factory Gallery. From 2019-21 the existing one-storey building at the rear was demolished and is being replaced by a new 2.5 storey wing designed by architect Lia Maston.
His works are also displayed in MOFO –Moose Factory of Orillia- his second home and studio compound in the heart of the historic Ontario home town 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.
Recent solo exhibitions include in the Charterhouse in London, Aug-Sept 2016 and a retrospective, “Quintessential Canadian”,
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 acclaimed 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 2017
……..
IT WAS FASCINATION I KNOW
portrait of Margaret Atwood, 1968
Mixed Media, hand printed
lithograph & serigraph, ed. of 10
……..
CROWN ROYAL ON THE ROCKS
acrylic on canvas, 1973
60 x 72 in
ASCENSION
acrylic on canvas, 2018
quadriptych – 4 canvas panels, 48×84 in. each
THE PAINTED FLAG .
acrylic on canvas 1998, 48×60 in
BLUE LEAF NATION
acrylic on canvas 60×72 in
********
NOBLESSE OBLIGE, Queen on Moose 1972
DECISIONS, DECISIONS 2015
Meeting the Queen in London, Feb 2015
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE
Toronto home and studio, 22 Grange Ave
Roof deck and Moose Sculpture overlooking Toronto skyline
from Pachter Hall & Moose Factory
2019-2022: Demolition of existing one-storey
Moose Factory in preparation for construction of
new 2.5 storey wing containing offices, galleries,
studios, residence, roof garden
New wing February 2021
Model for new wing
PACHTER HALL & MOOSE FACTORY
Studio & Galleries, Toronto
Toronto to Orillia, 90 minute drive
********
BEFORE & AFTER at MOFO, Moose Factory of Orillia.
Abandoned yard of adjoining property transformed into courtyard and gardens
********
MOFO, Moose Factory of Orillia, first studio
purchased & renovated 2014
MOFO & THE PACHTERPLEX with new residential addition and gardens, total lot size 17000 sq ft
•••••
Aug 5 2018, SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE!
*****
New townhouse Charles built in downtown Orillia in 2016 on the street where Group of Seven painter Franklin Carmichael grew up. Huge roof deck overlooks the city.
BEFORE
AFTER
••••••••••
RETROSPECTIVE, Bangladesh National Museum, Dhaka Feb 2018
New biography by Leonard Wise, Dundurn Press 2017
Some iconic PACHTER Images:
RITE DE PASSAGE 1972
CANADIAN TIRE , 2011
DECISIONS DECISIONS 2012
THE PAINTED FLAG 1981
STREETCAR HEADDRESS 1972
RED BARN GREEN FIELD 2014
BRINK 2011
PORTRAIT OF JOZEF STRAUS 2017
MOOSE ON PARADE Pachter Canada 150 frieze at the Royal Ontario Museum,
Toronto
Survey Exhibition at Art Gallery of Windsor May-June 2017
Retrospective Exhibition at Peel Art Museum & Archives, April 1 – June 11, 2017
Retrospective Exhibition at Art Gallery of Peterborough, July 1 – Sept 24, 2017
PAST SHOWS & EVENTS 1
PAST SHOWS & EVENTS 2
ORO BARNS SEEN FROM MY WINDOW
acrylic on canvas, 2010
Governor General’s residence, Rideau Hall, Ottawa
Pachter Solo Exhibition at THE CHARTERHOUSE, LONDON Aug-Sept 2016
Margaret Atwood and Charles as Cannon Dolls in the National Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker, Dec 2016
BUY ONLINE
Charles, age 4, with Northern Ontario woodsman Joe Laflamme and his pet moose at the CNE, 1947
SIDE BY SIDE acrylic on canvas, 2001, created to commemorate 9/11
With Justin Trudeau, July 2015
EIGHT PAINTED FLAGS, 2003
CANADIAN TIRE 2012
When Charles met the Queen in London in 2015, he told her
that he painted her in 1972 riding a moose, and
thanked her for helping him make a living all these years.
She beamed and said, “How amusing!”
Mischievous Launch of Charles’ Art Book, Oct 1992 :
MONARCHS OF THE NORTH, acrylic on canvas 2014
Painting for Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017
LEAF RADIANT
SHORT BIO: 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, and India.
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, and the University of Toronto. 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 has published an illustrated book on his life and work (1992), and Cormorant Books has published The Illustrated Journals of Susanna Moodie, his celebrated collaboration with poet Margaret Atwood (2014).
A new biography by Leonard Wise, CHARLES PACHTER: CANADA’S ARTIST was published by Dundurn Press in 2017
His murals of HOCKEY KNIGHTS IN CANADA , Les Rois de l’Arène 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 he spent summers painting 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- in the heart of the historic Ontario home town of sculptor Elizabeth Wyn Wood, painter Franklin Carmichael, folk singer & song writer Gordon Lightfoot, summer home of celebrated pianist Glenn Gould, and author and humorist Stephen Leacock.
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.
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, are published by Cormorant Books, Toronto.
Twitter: CharlesPachter1
TVO INTERVIEW 1996
http://74.113.2.211/video/archive/dialogue/charles-pachter
RECENT PACHTER EXHIBITIONS:
1812: The Art of War, Fort York
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/22/na0423-alco-pachter/
LEST WE FORGET,
http://www.lgontario.ca/en/visit/pages/tour-the-lieutenant-governors-Suite.aspx
Virtual Tour of Pachter Hall & Moose Factory
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HOW IT ALL STARTED: Charles with woodsman Joe La Flamme and his pet moose
at the Canadian National Exhibition, Aug 1947.
Four-year-old Charles played a lost boy in this short film by the
NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA
CHARLIE AT THE FAIR,
a sequel, was made by Your Life Productions
56 years later in 2003
Charles pets a moose at the CNE in 1947
Prints Charles presents Princess Anne with his print of her riding a moose.
And here’s her lovely thank-you letter:
With John Matheson & George F.G. Stanley who chose the design for our Maple Leaf flag in 1965.
This photo was taken in April 1985 at the opening of my show REGARDING THE FLAG at the Ontario Science Centre,
marking the 20th anniversary of the flag’s creation.
This year, 2015, marks the flag’s 50th anniversary. Here is my commemorative painting:
New painting of a Remembrance Day poppy,
for my show commemorating 100th anniversary of WW One,
opened June 2014 in the Lieutenant-Governor’s suite at Queen’s Park,
runs through June 2015. Open to the public:
http://www.lgontario.ca/en/pages/default.aspx
Hudson’s Bay blanket
based on my painting BAY WATCH
click on
POP GOES CANADIANA exhibition
University of Alberta galleries, Edmonton
article from The Edmonton Examiner
RED, PINK, BLUE, SCARLET, BLACK & GOLD
University of Toronto Convocation , Nov 2013
Charles greets Ontario Lieutenant-Governor David Onley
at his MOFO studio in Orillia, July 2013
Charles auctions off 44 of his art works at MOFO, Moose Factory of Orillia, in July 2014
to create an Endowment Fund for OMAH, Orillia Museum of Art & History
Charles welcomes Ontario Lieutenant-Governor
Liz Dowdeswell to his MOFO studio in Orillia, July 2015
The power and paradox of Pachter’s art is the way you sense a national character simply by standing in front of his work. In his iconoclastic visual metaphors I find myself luxuriating in their beauty and sensuality. I find new connections in their strange, jarring juxtapositions. Pachter’s creative impulse extends from finding, in the cultural heritage of his country, evidence of the fundamental stories that make us human: myths. For Pachter, life has an operatic dimension. He has devoted his considerable skills to rocking his audiences with grand gesture, profound feeling, sensual overload, and glorious, splendid expressions of being human…”
Tom Smart, Saint John Telegraph Journal
“THE ARTIST WHO CREATED CANADA’S MODERN MYTHOLOGY: Renowned for his iconic renderings of the Canadian flag, the Queen astride a moose and cultural icons from Margaret Atwood to Pierre Trudeau, painter and printmaker Charles Pachter has himself become an icon of this country’s art scene. Over his 50-year career, his boldly graphic works and uncloying patriotism have presented a cheeky yet defining vision of Canada and its culture unlike any other.”
Betty Ann Jordan
“With continuing grand gestures Pachter has staked out cultural territory of his own and celebrated it unabashedly… He is a serious minded humorist who possesses the gift to be roguish and poignant at once.”
Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov
“Pachter’s works address larger concerns that speak to a wider audience than perhaps any other artist in Canada.”
Christopher Hume, Toronto Star
“Ironical work that is both serious and self-parodying. Pachter works hard, even at the trivial. The paintings are beautiful in one way or another, like joke panels that take your breath away. These witty, occasionally dry images are more than urban jokes; they have emotional staying power. Pachter invades Pop culture with surreal wit. He sometimes paints as an insider to culture and at others like a true outcast. His work escapes a tendency towards intellectualism through the sheer power of talent and love of image.”
David MacLean, Vancouver Sun
“On se sent en présence d’un homme intelligent, cultivé et sensible qui nous fait découvrir des mondes insoupçonnés à portée de la main.
Pierre Karch, L’Express de Toronto
“Charlie’s canvases are windows into the soul of Canada”
Marc Côté, Cormorant Books
SARA ANGEL essay on Charles’ early work
NICK DE PENCIER documentary on Charles’ polaroids and portraits
XAVIER LAMBERT article on Charles’ work in Le Métropolitain
MOOSEPLUNGE, powder-coated baked enamel on aluminum
PIONEER ( Susanna Moodie) 1982
CHIEF YELLOWHEAD AT THE NARROWS,
acrylic on canvas 2013
Summer night at MOFO-MOOSE FACTORY OF ORILLIA
studio, archives, & gallery
DRESSED TO KILL, acrylic on canvas
from the series “1812: THE ART OF WAR
Prince Phillip & Lieut-Gov David Onley view Charles’s print
of Prince Edward (father of Queen Victoria) visiting Ontario’s
first Lieut-Gov John Graves Simcoe in Niagara, 1792
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE
Solo Exhibition at the ART GALLERY OF SUDBURY, April -June, 2013
Solo Exhiibition, LANDMARKS
Orillia Museum of Art & History, July 20-Sept 6 2013
VERS LE SOLEIL, Champs Elysées 1963
watercolour on Arches paper
LAUGHING MONARCHS 2008,
collection University of Alberta Art Gallery,Edmonton
DECISIONS DECISIONS 2012
Click on image to enlarge
STREETCAR RAINBOW
CANADIAN TIRE, acrylic on canvas, 2012
Suggestion for a Diamond Jubilee stamp featuring Charles’ 1972 painting of the Queen on a Moose.
A Royal Visitor admires MOOSECONSTRUE, the Monarch of the North, Charles’ corten steel sculpture on the campus of the University of Toronto.
NOBLESSE OBLIGE, Queen on Moose, acrylic on canvas, 1972
HIGHNESSES-IN-TRAINING GREET MONARCH OF THE NORTH,
inkjet and acrylic on canvas, 2011
In the studio, May 1981
Five paintings from the inaugural exhibition THE PAINTED FLAG, Nov 1981,
installed in the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa
Installation of Inaugural Exhibition, THE PAINTED FLAG, 567 Queen St W, Toronto 1981
Original Exhibition poster, 1981
Acrylic on canvas panels for College subway mural
HOCKEY KNIGHTS IN CANADA, Les Rois de l’Arène, 1984
MOOSEPLUNGE 2000, PAINTED FIBERGLASS,
CITY HALL PLAZA, TORONTO
SIDE BY SIDE, acrylic on canvas, 2001
BENEDICTION 2003
WHOSE SARI NOW, acrylic on canvas 2005
CONCLUSION, acrylic & pastel on canvas, 2007
BALACLAVABURQA, acrylic and pencil on canvas, 2007
ARE WE AMUSED, 2010
