Augustus Kenderdine
Field Day
April 18 - September 9, 2011
Kenderdine Art Gallery
Curated by Kent Archer
The paintings and drawings selected for Field Day are from the University of Saskatchewan Permanent Art Collection and illustrate dominant themes within Kenderdine’s practice. Many of the pieces selected demonstrate Kenderdine’s engagement with the Saskatchewan landscape, including northern, central and southern locales within the province. The Kenderdine Art Gallery is pleased to welcome many of these works back to Saskatoon after their extensive tour to over a dozen galleries and museums in the province.
Augustus Kenderdine was born in Manchester, England, in 1870. He studied art with his godfather, Chevalier de la Fosse and later at the Academie Julien in Paris. He arrived in Canada in 1908, homesteading near Lashburn, Saskatchewan. In the early 1920s, Dr. Walter Murray, then president of the University of Saskatchewan, viewed several of his paintings and was so impressed that he offered Kenderdine studio space at the University. Kenderdine then spent winters in Saskatoon painting and teaching informal classes until he was appointed Lecturer in Art at the University of Saskatchewan in 1927.
In the late 1920s, Kenderdine began to paint in Northern Saskatchewan, and constructed a cabin at Emma Lake. He dreamed of developing a summer art camp at Emma Lake, and in 1936, persuaded the University of Saskatchewan to support the artist retreat. Emma Lake has since become legendary within the history of Canadian art, and has facilitated an impressive roster of internationally-renowned artists and critics. In 1937, Kenderdine moved to Regina to assist in the establishment of the art department at Regina College (now the University of Regina). He lived in Regina until his death in 1947. The collection of Kenderdine paintings, drawings, archives and related material at the
University of Saskatchewan was assembled as a result of the generous gift from Kenderdine’s daughter May Beamish in 1990. Thanks to this bequest, the Kenderdine Art Gallery serves as a memorial to the talent and determination of this pioneering artist.
