William Perehudoff

William Perehudoff
Saskatoon artists (left) William Perehudoff and Ernest Lindner with Eva Mendel Miller viewing an art exhibition (possibly children's art) in Langham, Sask.
Born
William Perehudoff

(1918-04-21)April 21, 1918
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Died(2013-02-26)February 26, 2013 (aged 94)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
EducationColorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Amédée Ozenfant, Emma Lake Artist's Workshops
Known forPainter, muralist
MovementColour Field painting
SpouseDorothy Knowles
AwardsOrder of Canada, Saskatchewan Order of Merit, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
Patron(s)Fred Mendel

William Perehudoff CM SOM RCA (April 21, 1918 – February 26, 2013) was a Canadian artist closely associated with colour field painting. He was married to the landscape painter Dorothy Knowles.

Life and career

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Perehudoff was born in St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on April 21, 1918, and was raised on a farm in the Doukhobor community of Bogdanovka[1] (Google Map), between the towns of Langham and Borden, Saskatchewan.[2] His formal education ended at grade eleven,[2] but he pursued art studies with French artist Jean Chariot at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado (1948–49), with Amédée Ozenfant at the Ozenfant School of Fine Arts, New York, New York (1949–50) and through the Emma Lake Artist's Workshops (various years, 1957 to 1990), where he became acquainted with teachers Kenneth Noland and Jules Olitski.[3][4] It was at one of these workshops in 1962 that he met New York art critic Clement Greenberg,[2] who introduced him to Post-painterly Abstraction, which had an enormous impact upon his art and career.

Perehudoff became acquainted with Jack Bush at the suggestion of Kenneth Noland in the mid 1960s. He regularly visited Bush thereafter and felt an affinity for the way Bush worked in commercial art to support his family, as did Perehudoff.[5]

Perehudoff's work has been represented in numerous public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, Remai Modern in Saskatoon, the Canada Council Art Bank, the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Art.[4]

In 1994, he was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit,[6] and in 1999, he was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada.[2][7] He was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.[8] Due to failing eyesight, Perehudoff gave up painting around 2003-2004.[9]

In November 2009, several of Perehudoff's murals were successfully removed from the executive suite in the former Intercontinental Packers plant. Perehudoff painted them in 1950, and the abstract silhouettes are considered the last remaining examples of purist cubist art from that period. Appraised at $250,000, the murals had been at risk as the plant was slated for demolition.[10] Ian Hodkinson, a retired art conservator, was brought in and used a special method to remove the acrylic paint from the plaster intact.[11] The murals remained in storage[12] until the Remai Modern was completed in 2017. They are now displayed in a special antechamber, built to the same dimensions as the boardroom in which they first existed.[13] In 2010, a travelling retrospective titled The Optimism of Colour: William Perehudoff was curated by Karen Wilkin for Saskatoon’s Mendel Art Gallery.[14]

Perehudoff died on February 26, 2013, at age 94.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Kalmakoff, Jonathan. "Bogdanovka". The Doukhobor Gazeteer. Doukhobor Genealogy Website. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "William Perehudoff: Chronology". Mendel Art Gallery. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  3. ^ Perehudoff, Carol (April 22, 2010). "William Perehudoff - ie my dad the art star". Wandering Carol. Archived from the original on May 23, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Artists - William Perehudoff". Art Placement. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  5. ^ Carpenter, Ken (1981). The Heritage of Jack Bush. Oshawa: Robert McLaughlin Gallery. p. 55. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  6. ^ "Saskatchewan Order of Merit Recipients". Government of Saskatchewan. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  7. ^ "Order of Canada: William W. Perehudoff, C.M." The Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  8. ^ "Members since 1880". Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  9. ^ McKay, Stephanie (February 27, 2013). "'He was competing against history' - Perehudoff spoke volumes with his talent". The StarPhoenix. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  10. ^ "Famed Saskatoon artist William Perehudoff dies". The StarPhoenix. February 27, 2013. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  11. ^ Sharp, Jenn (November 20, 2009). "Perehudoff murals rescued, preserved". The StarPhoenix.
  12. ^ Denny, Dave (June 3, 2010). "Its Official! The Murals to Go in Art Gallery of Saskatachewan". Mendel's Murals. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  13. ^ Jen, Leslie (2018-01-22). "Prairie Transformation". Canadian Architect. Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Archived from the original on 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  14. ^ "William Perehudoff: The Optimism of Colour". rmg.on.ca. Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  15. ^ "Saskatchewan modern artist William Perehudoff dies at 94". CBC News. February 27, 2013. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
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