biography

Kenneth Lochhead 1926 - 2006

Born in Ottawa in 1926, Kenneth Lochhead studied art at Queen’s University, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Barnes Foundation. He was appointed the Director of the School of Art at the University of Saskatchewan’s Regina campus in 1950 and remained in Regina until 1964. In 1955, while in Regina, he initiated the Emma Lake Professional Artists’ Workshops, which brought about a renaissance in Saskatchewan art and helped propel it onto the international scene. He was also a member of the Regina Five painters who exhibited at the National Gallery in 1961 and who were considered to be at the forefront of Canada’s modern art movement at that time. He later taught at the University of Manitoba, (1964-1973), York University, (1973-1975), and the University of Ottawa (1975-1989). He retired in 1989 and worked in his studio on a full-time basis until his death in 2006.

From 1953 until 2006 Lochhead exhibited in over three hundred national and international exhibitions and received over 18 major Canadian and international art commissions. His public commissions included a mural for the Regina Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, a mural for the Gander International Airport, the design for Manitoba’s Centennial Stamp, relief decoration for the Canadian Chancery in Warsaw, Poland, and a mural for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ottawa. In 2005 the MacKenzie Art Gallery marked Saskatchewan’s Centennial celebrations with a sixty-year retrospective of Lochhead’s career. Kenneth Lochhead-Garden of Light paid homage to the art, teaching, education, and vision of this man who helped to establish contemporary art in Canada.

Aside from his distinguished career as an artist and educator, Lochhead served on many national and provincial public boards, committees, and organizations. He was awarded The Order of Canada in 1971, an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Regina in 2001, and the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2006.

Kenneth Lochhead said of his own work, “I like to paint. As an eclectic painter I am in love with the nature of form, and human innovation. I have learned that plastic form, with its elements of colour, light, line and space, is the essence of coherent visual expression. I suppose my painting is based primarily on the art of painting with the hope that it transcends to the art in painting. I like to think that there are no rules, just meaningful principles that free imaginative pursuits through paint”.

Obituary & Press Release

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Art Schools / Teaching / Awards / Committees

Art Schools
Summer Art School, Queen’s University, Kingston, 1944.
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 1945 - 1948.
Barnes Foundation, Merion, PA, 1946 - 1948.

Teaching
Carleton University, Ottawa, 1950. Introduced a studio course in drawing and painting.
School of Art, University of Saskatchewan, Regina, 1950 - 1964. Director.
Regina College, University of Saskatchewan. Initiated Artists Workshop, Emma Lake, 1955.
School of Fine Arts, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, 1964 - 1973. Associate Professor
Department of Visual Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University, Toronto, 1973 - 1974, Professor.              1974-1975, Acting Chairman.
Department of Visual Arts, University of Ottawa, 1975 - 1989. Professor.

Awards
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Tuition Scholarships, 1946, 1947, 1948.
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Emlin Cresson Memorial Travelling Scholarship in                              mural decoration for study and travel in Europe, 1948
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Lewis S. Ware Memorial Travelling Scholarship for                            travel in Canada, 1949
O’Keefe Art Awards Competition, Toronto, 1950. First Prize.
Canada Council Grant, for Travel in Europe, 1958.
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Biennial, 1962. First Prize: Painting.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 80th Annual Spring Exhibition, 1963.Jessie Dow Award.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 81st Annual Spring Exhibition, 1964. Robinson Award.
Centennial Medal, 1967.
Governor General’s Honours List, 1971. Awarded Medal of the Order of Canada. OC.
Canada Council Grant, 1971.
Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation, 1992. 
Member: Royal Canadian Academy, RCA. 1996.
Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Regina. 2001
Golden Jubilee Medal, 2002. 
Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts, 2006. 

Committees
Department of Public Works: Fine Arts Advisory Committee, 1972-1975.
Wascana Centre Authority - Regina:Chairman, Fine Arts Advisory Committee,1975-1988
City of Ottawa: Advisory Committee for the Ottawa Art Gallery, 1976 - 1977.
National Capital Commission Art Advisory Committee, 1977 - 1980, Member.
                                                                              1981 - 1985, Chairman.
Art Gallery of Ontario: Board of Trustees, 1979 - 1982.
Rideau Hall, Ottawa: Furnishings Committee, 1987 - 1989.