Short
Description
Donald
was a prolific painter who painted purely for the love of
painting. Other than a few paintings exhibited with Lawren
Harris in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Donald did not
exhibit his work. It is only since his passing that his
works are being shown.
Biography
Dr.
Flather was a highly talented man who combined his love
of the outdoors with his love of art to produce many wonderful
works. Over his lifetime, he produced in excess of 400 paintings,
which extensively covered Canadian landscapes from coast
to coast, as well as plants and animals. Although a teacher
by vocation, he dedicated a great deal of his life (circa
1919-1990) to his painting and developed his own unique
style which combines elements of French Impressionism and
the Group of Seven.
Dr.
Flather was a colleague of Lawren Harris, founder of the
Group of Seven, and the two men worked together for several
years on the executive of the Federation
of Canadian Artists (click here to go to their site),
of which Dr. Flather was an original member. From 1938,
Dr. Flather exhibited many times with the B.C.Federation
of Artists (of which he was Secretary of in the 40s and
50s) in Vancouver, and displayed a few paintings at The
Art Gallery of Toronto. Following this, he also acted as
National Treasurer of The Federation of Canadian Artists.
He was a very modest man, and did not devote much time or
effort to showing his art, rather he preferred to circulate
it amongst friends and family. He even did not sign some
of his paintings on the front, as he believed it to be unnecessary,
detracting from the beauty of the painting and never really
intended to sell them.
After
growing up in the Shuswap Lake region, Donald Flather came
to Vancouver in his twenties, at which time he began to
paint more in his free time. He graduated from U.B.C. with
his B.A. and M.A.. He took teacher training and began teaching
at Templeton, and taught at Britannia and King George High
Schools. At King George he was Vice Principal, and he organized
the Vancouver Night School for several years at King Edward
Campus. Dr. Flather's Ph.D. in Education was conferred at
the University of Washington in 1950. He and his lovely
wife Grace raised a family of three boys, Elwood, Barrie
and Verne- all of whom went on to become medical doctors,
raising families of their own.
Dr.
Flather's works show a wonderful combining of his roles
of teacher, botanist, biologist, scientist and painter,
and successfully integrate his knowledge with his art. One
of his greatest wishes was that others be able to view and
enjoy through his paintings the world as he saw it- full
of beauty.
His
works are now widely held across Canada, the U.S, Asia and
Britain.
Donald
M. Flather Paintings For Sale Gallery
All
Internet Direct Sales of Donald's work qualify the buyer
for a 20% of the List Price Tax Deductible Donation. This
deduction goes to help the following causes: British Columbia
Children's Hospital, World Wildlife Fund and PETA (People
for Ethical Treatment of Animals).
Gallery
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