E. J. Hughes
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Edward John Hughes, CM , OBC (February 17, 1913 – January 5, 2007) was a Canadian artist.
Hughes was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and spent a significant part of his childood in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Raised during the Depression he studied at the Vancouver School of Applied Art and Design where he graduated in 1933. His talent was recognized early, one of his teachers was Frederick Varley of the Group of Seven (artists), and another member, Lawren Harris, recommended him for the inaugral Emily Carr Scholarship.
In 1934 he formed a partnership with the muralist Paul Goranson and Orville Fisher in a commercial art firm. When World War II began he enlisted and served as one of Canada's official war artists. After being discharged from the military in 1946 he returned to the west coast of Canada with his wife Fern and settled in Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island. Hughes spent much of the remainder of his life living on Vancouver Island where he pursued a lifelong study of the province and its landscape as a professional artist.
In the 1950s Hughes reputation grew, especially after he began to be represented by Max Stern, the owner of the Dominion Gallery in Montreal. In 1954 he was one of 18 artists asked by the Canadian Pacific Railway to contribute murals for cars used on the transcontinental railway. In 1992 Canada Post used one of his images on a stamp commemorating 125 years of Confederation.
Hughes was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1968. In 2001, he received the Order of Canada and in 2005 he was awarded the Order of British Columbia. Both of the latter awards cited his dedication to representing Canada with passion and originality.
Hughes’ paintings are best known for their strong and appealing images of the landscape and seascape of British Columbia. His distinctive style of painting is marked by the use of flattened space, skewed perspective and simplified shapes. The paintings combine compelling clarity with a sense of the unknown and an appreciation for natural surroundings.
