SHORT BIO
One of Canada’s leading contemporary artists, Charles Pachter was born in Toronto on Dec 30, 1942. He is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, historian, and lecturer. He studied French literature at the Sorbonne in Paris, painting and graphics at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, and art history at the University of Toronto. His work has been shown at the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the McMichael Gallery, among others.
His work is represented in public and private collections in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Japan, and India. His work can also be seen in the College Subway Station in Toronto, where the murals of the Montréal Canadiens face the Toronto Maple Leafs across the subway tracks. He is a member of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier of France’s Order of Arts and Letters, holds honorary doctorates from Brock University, the Ontario College of Art & Design, and the University of Toronto. He is a recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee medal.
His images of the queen, moose, and maple leaf flag are pop icons of Canadian contemporary art. McClelland & Stewart publications include an illustrated book on his life and work, and The Journals of Susanna Moodie, his celebrated collaboration with poet Margaret Atwood.
He has lectured extensively on the legacy of the Loyalists, John Graves Simcoe and the creation of English Canada following the American Revolution.
Mr. Pachter lives and works beside Grange Park in an award-winning residence and studio designed by architect Stephen Teeple. His work is on permanent display in his adjoining Moose Factory Gallery. In summer he paints in a waterfront studio converted from an ice storage depot on Lake Simcoe.
His 1980 portrait of Margaret Atwood has been purchased by the Portrait Gallery of Canada. His flag paintings hang in the Prime Minister’s residence in Ottawa, in the Canadian Embassy in Washington, in the Parliament Buildings and in the Embassy of France in Ottawa.
Pachter’s steel and granite moose sculptures have been installed across Canada.
His children’s books, M is for Moose, and Canada Counts, are published by Cormorant Books, Toronto.
pachterc@gmail.com
Pachter Hall and Moose Factory
22 Grange Avenue Toronto M5T1C7
416 260 1600
EDUCATION AND HONOURS
University of Toronto, Honours BA, Fine Art
Sorbonne, Paris, Diplômé de l’ESPPPFE
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan, MFA
Brock University, St. Catharines, Honorary Doctorate, 1996
Member, Order of Canada
Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, France
Queen’s Jubilee Medal
Ontario College of Art & Design, honorary doctorate, 2009
University of Torontoi, honorary doctorate, 2010
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
CHARLES PACHTER’S CANADA (II), Royal Ontario Museum, Oct 07-Feb 08
Glimpses of India, Canadian High Commission, New Delhi, Jan 2007
“Mind’s Eye”, Canadian Embassy , Tokyo, April-June, 2001
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 1994
Centre d’Art Présence Van Gogh, St Rémy de Provence, France 1991
Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax
Arts & Letters Cub, Toronto
Alliance Française, Toronto
Gallery Moos, Toronto
Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary
Ontario Science Centre, Toronto
Ontario House, London, U.K.
Art Gallery of Ontario , Toronto
University of Ottawa
McGill University, Montreal
CN Tower, Toronto
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Arena, The Art of Hockey, across Canada
Books by Artists, National Library, Ottawa
Canadian Prints Touring Australia
Camden Centre, London, U.K.
Sixth International Biennial of Satire in the Arts; Gabrovo, Bulgaria
Contemporary Handmade Books, National Gallery of Morocco, Rabat
“Post-Pop Realism”, The Winnipeg Perspective, Winnipeg Art Gallery
Department of External Affairs, Washington
International Print Biennale, Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Color Prints of the Americas, New Jersey State Museum
National Gallery of Canada
SELECTED PUBLIC & CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
Art Gallery of Ontario
Canadian Embassy, Washington
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Canadian Music Centre, Toronto
Centre d’Art Présence Van Gogh, St. Rémy de Provence, France
City of Boston
Credit Suisse Canada
Imperial Life Assurance Company of Canada
Musée d’art contemporain, Montreal
National Library, Ottawa
Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary
Pforzheimer Library, New York
Public Archives of Canada
Stratford Shakespearean Festival
Toronto Dominion Bank
Toronto Transit Commission
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION
Harcourt Brace
Doubleday
Gage
MacMillan
Maclean’s
McClelland and Stewart
Methuen
Stratford Shakespearean Festival
SELECTED LECTURES/ADDRESSES given by Charles Pachter:
Royal Commonwealth Society
Empire Club of Canada
Canadian Society of Artists
Granite Club
United Empire Loyalists Association
Stratford Festival
Arts & Letters Club, Toronto
TVOntario
School of Architecture, University of Toronto
IBM International
Young Presidents Organization
Winnipeg Art Gallery
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Alberta College of Art, Calgary
Ontario Association of Art Galleries
Ontario College of Art
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
MARGARET ATWOOD/ CHARLES PACHTER Handmade Books:
The Journals of Susanna Moodie
Speeches for Doctor Frankenstein
Expeditions
Talismans for Children
Kaleidoscopes:Baroque
The Circle Game
OTHER
Member, Order of Canada
Member, Nominating Committee, Art Gallery of Ontario
Founder, Artists Alliance Building Limited, Toronto
Instructor, West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative, Cape Dorset, N.W.T.
Professor, Department of Fine Art, University of Calgary
Assistant Curator, International Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture, Expo ’67, Montreal
SELECTED COMMISSIONS
The Painted Flag, Canadian Embassy, Washington
The Painted Flag, Maclean’s Magazine 90th anniversary
The Painted Flag , Canada 125, City&Country Home magazine
“Voice of Culture”, Outdoor Mural, Acme Bar & Grill, Toronto
Toronto 96 Olympics Bid Poster
Inniskillin Wines
Canadian National Railways
Royal Ontario Museum
Stratford Shakespearean Festival
Hockey Murals, Toronto Transit Commission
JUROR
Toronto Public Sculpture Competition
National Magazine Awards
Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition
The Toronto Arts Awards Foundation
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CATALOGUES
“CHARLES PACHTER” monograph, Welsh-Ovcharov, McClelland & Stewart 1992
“Charles Pachter, “La lumière ombre” St. Rémy de Provence, France , 1991
The Canadian Encyclopaedia, Hurtig, P.1488
“Contemporary Canadian Art”, Schiff/Burnett, HURTIG
“Post-Pop Realism” Catalogue, Art Gallery of Winnipeg
“Made in Canada/Artists in Books”, National Library
“Collins, Pachter, Tinkl” Catalogue, Art Gallery of Ontario
“Canadian Landscapes” Catalogue, Department of External Affairs
“ESP, Esler/Pachter” National Gallery Catalogue
“The Journals of Susanna Moodie” Atwood-Pachter, Houghton-Mifflin 1997
SELECTED FILM/VIDEO PACHTER PROFILES
National Treasures, June Callwood,Vision TV
The Originals, CITY TV
CBC Arts & Entertainment
A Comme Artiste, TV Ontario
National Film Board, Montreal
