David Blackwood was one of Newfoundland’s finest artists and a legendary printer. Here he is in his studio in Port Hope, Ontario, where he has been working since graduating from the Ontario College of Art and Design. ((John Rietti/CBC))
World-renowned artist, teacher and Newfoundland resident David Blackwood has died.
Blackwood died Saturday at his home in Port Hope, Ont., surrounded by family after a long illness.
His work presents working life in remote Newfoundland as vast and dark, with mysterious depths beneath every surface.
Blackwood’s death comes less than a month after the loss of another equally legendary Newfoundland and Labrador artist, Christopher Pratt.
Etching and aquatint on wove paper 67.2 x 82.8 cm Gift of David and Anita Blackwood, Port Hope, Ontario. (David Blackwood/Art Gallery of Ontario)
Mythology for Newfoundland
Born in 1941 in Wesleyville, Blackwood grew up surrounded by people working on the sea, who would continue to inspire his work throughout his life.
An artistic prodigy from an early age, Blackwood was awarded a Newfoundland Government Centennial Scholarship to study at the Ontario College of Art. By the age of 23, his works were already exhibited in the National Gallery.
Blackwood is perhaps best known for his blue-and-black engravings and prints, which often depict scenes of harbor life, cookers, icebergs, whales and people at sea, all formed by contrasting dark shadows and bright white light.
“David Blackwood created a mythology for Newfoundland,” says Emma Butler, a gallery owner and friend of the Blackwoods.
The Emma Butler Gallery, opened in 1987, shows the work of David Blackwood.
“People know about these amazing stories of shipwrecks and seal disasters and stories of quackery and images of split tables and scales and all that stuff.”
“People know about Newfoundland through the images of David Blackwood,” she said.
Etching and aquatint on wove paper 62 x 92.3 cm Gift of David and Anita Blackwood, Port Hope, Ontario. (David Blackwood/Art Gallery of Ontario)
Some of his most recognizable works are the series of engravings made in the 1960s and 1970s, The Lost Party, depicting the Newfoundland seal disaster of 1914 with harrowing scenes of seals in boats, bleak, rich world around them.
With over 50 etchings in the series, it remains one of the largest thematically linked series of prints in Canadian history.
Blackwood’s work has been exhibited internationally with over 90 solo exhibitions and two major retrospectives.
His work is featured in nearly every major public gallery and collection in Canada, from The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, and even in the Queen Elizabeth II Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.
In 2000, the Art Gallery of Ontario established the Blackwood Research Center based around a large collection of his works.
He was the subject of a 1976 National Film Board documentary Blackwood, which ranked the artist’s etchings alongside those of Rembrandt, Goya and Durer. The film was nominated for an Oscar.
Blackwood was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1993 and the Order of Ontario in 2003.
Etching and aquatint on wove paper 43.9 x 88 cm Gift of David and Anita Blackwood, Port Hope, Ontario. (David Blackwood/Art Gallery of Ontario) (David Blackwood/Art Gallery of Ontario)
First of all Newfoundland
Emma Butler, who spoke with Blackwood shortly before his death, says he still talked about Newfoundland and aspects of the land he wanted to depict in his art.
“He was a complicated man. He was well educated. He was well read. A huge, huge library. He was, I would say, first and foremost a Newfoundlander even in his last days. Everything he talked about when I would talk about this place.”
“It was all about his work. And he was very ill for a long time, but he was determined to get better because he had more work to do.’
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