DAVID MILNE (Estate), 1882-1953

Biography

Milne maintained that art was the product of "aesthetic emotion," which has an intellectual beginning and a spiritual end. He described the process as follows: "The painter gets an impression from some phase of nature … he simplifies and eliminates until he knows exactly what stirred him, sets this down in colour and line and so translates his impression into aesthetic emotion."

David Milne Watercolours

Katharine Lochnan

Art Gallery of Ontario / Douglas & McIntyre

DAVID MILNE (1882-1953) has long been recognized as one of Canada's most original and influential artists. Born in Bruce County, Ontario in 1882, he spent the early years of his artistic career in New York, where he was one of two Canadians represented in the famous Armory Show of 1913. He returned to Canada in 1929, eventually settling near Bancroft, where he died in 1953.

Milne's strong personal style incorporated aspects of the work of American and French impressionists, Whistler, Cézanne and the Fauves. Whether observing the rugged northern landscape or capturing the ephemeral beauty of the female figure casually observed, Milne's paintings express the spontaneity, freshness and clarity of vision that are hallmarks of his oeuvre.

David Milne was the subject of a major traveling exhibition "David Milne Watercolours: Painting Toward the Light" at the Art Gallery of Ontario (February 25 - May 21, 2006); the British Museum, London (July 7 - September 25, 2005); the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (November 8, 2005 - January 29, 2006).

In 2012, the Art Gallery of Ontario opened a newly expanded David Milne Centre. Combining art with archives, short films and interactive research tools, the Centre is a fitting way to help preserve Milne's legacy.

The exhibition "David Milne: Modern Painting" was exhibited at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, U.K. in February 2018. The exhibition travelled to the Vancouver Art Gallery and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

Milne's work is included in numerous international public, corporate and private collections.

Mira Godard Gallery has represented the Estate of David Milne for fifty years.

Works