Donald K. Anderson
Donald K. Anderson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Donald Kenneth Anderson 1920 Toronto,Canada |
| Died | May 11, 2009(aged 88–89) near Toronto |
| Known for | artist |
Donald K. Anderson(June26, 1920 – May11, 2009) was Canada's last survivingRoyal Canadian Air Force(RCAF)Official Second World War artist.[1]He was known for his character studies, depictions of people, and action scenes. He said of his work that he believed it was like a story about people, and that he should "select, establish a mood and record".[2]
Career
[edit]Anderson was born in Toronto and attended Danforth Technical School whereC. W. Jefferystold him what made a historical artist. At the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), he learned to draw fromJ. W. Beatty,Franklin Carmichaeland Rowley Murphy.[2]He graduated at the beginning of the Second World War.[3]
He enlisted in theRoyal Canadian Air Forcein April 1941 and was employed for a time as anNCOartist in the Directorate of Public Relations at Air Force Headquarters inOttawa,[3][4]before being promoted to flight sergeant and from spring 1944 to 1945, serving as anOfficial War Artist.He was sent overseas and painted scenes derived from his postings, to London, Scotland, and mainland Europe, as well as portraits.[5]He was posted with different squadrons, among them the No. 404, Nos. 431 and 434 (Bomber Command), then he was sent to Europe for attachment to No. 127 Wing, aSpitfireformation consisting of Nos. 403,[6]416, and 421 Squadrons. He stayed with that organization until June 1945, witnessing the static winter war, the crossing of theRhine,and the final advance into Germany.[1]
During the war, several dramatic events occurred to him. Among them were two incidents in 1945, the "Hangover Raid" (the New Year's Day raid that devastated theLuftwaffe) – about which he created six works[1]and the occasion when an AmericanB-17 Flying Fortresscrashed atEvere,Belgium, skidding into a hangar filled withAnsonaircraft before exploding in a fireball composed of 3,000 pounds of bombs and hundreds of litres of gas. Anderson, a few feet away, was bowled over but unhurt.[1](He subsequently captured the moment inThe Day a Flying Fort Landed(1945), which he let theRobert McLaughlin GalleryinOshawause as the cover for the catalogue for its exhibitionCanadian Artists of the Second World War).[2]
Anderson was on one of three trucks with food supplies sent intoBergen-Belsenconcentration camp in April 1945. He drew in his sketchbooks the survivors (location unknown).[7]His sketch titledBelsen(Canadian War Museum) was reproduced in Mark Celinscak'sDistance from the Belsen Heap: Allied Forces and the Liberation of a Nazi Concentration Camp.[8]
He is represented in the Canadian War Collection by 89 works. After his discharge, he became a freelance illustrator in Montreal. In the years that followed, he won six Merit and Medal awards from art directors' clubs in Montreal and Toronto.[3]
Anderson's specialty was historical subjects. One of his paintings,Maisonneuve's founding of Ville-Marie,painted for Confederation Life Association's Gallery of Canadian History, was presented to the city of Montreal and hangs inCity Hall.He did other historical illustrations, one for a two-volume history,Canada's first bank: A History of the Bank of Montreal(1966–67) (in two volumes) written byMerrill Denison.[3]
References
[edit]- ^abcdHalliday, Hugh."Donald Kenneth Anderson".scholars.wlu.ca.Canadian War Museum, Ottawa.Retrieved12 November2023.
- ^abcCanadian Artists of the Second World War.Oshawa: Robert McLaughlin Gallery. 1981.Retrieved12 November2023.
- ^abcdA Dictionary of Canadian Artists, volumes 1–8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 (online only), by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker National Gallery of Canada / Musée des beaux-arts du Canada
- ^Wodehouse, R. F. (1968)."A Checklist of the War Collections of World War I, 1914–1918, and World War II, 1939–1945".Archive.org.National Gallery of Canada.Retrieved13 November2023.
- ^"Collection".warmuseum.ca.Canadian War Museum.Retrieved13 November2023.
- ^Lagacé, Pierre."Don Anderson – The Power of the Internet".rcaf403squadron.wordpress.com.Retrieved12 November2023.
- ^Donald Anderson, Artist's files, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa.
- ^Celinscak, Mark (2015).Distance from the Belsen Heap: Allied Forces and the Liberation of a Nazi Concentration Camp.Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 130.Retrieved12 November2023.
Further reading
[edit]- Brandon, Laura.War Art in Canada.Art Institute.Retrieved12 November2023.