Чарльз Фрейзер Комфорт: Суретші, мүсінші және өнер қайраткерінің өмірі мен шығармашылығы

Scotland born Canadian painter, sculptor, teacher, writer and administrator

Charles Fraser Comfort, LL. D. (July 22, 1900 – July 5, 1994) was a Scotland born Canadian painter, sculptor, teacher, writer and administrator.

Born near Edinburgh, Scotland, Comfort moved to Winnipeg in 1912 with his family. His father found work with the treasury department for the city of Winnipeg. Comfort, as the eldest child, had to work from a young age to help support his family. In 1914, he began work as a commercial artist at the newly established Brigdens commercial art branch office in Winnipeg established by Frederick Henry (Fred) Brigden, and by 1916 Comfort started attending evening classes at the Winnipeg School of Art. Comfort saved money to attend the Art Students League of New York under Robert Henri and Euphrasius Tucker. Still working part time for Brigdens commercial studio, he was temporarily transferred to Toronto in 1919. While in Toronto, Comfort joined the Arts and Letters Club, taking life study classes and meeting members of the Group of Seven. Comfort visited the Group's inaugural 1920 exhibition, which inspired Comfort to work on landscape paintings, a theme he continued throughout his lifetime. Comfort returned to Winnipeg in 1922 for his first exhibition of watercolours at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. During this time, he met Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald and Walter J. Phillips. It was not until 1925 that Comfort painted his first oil painting, when he returned to Toronto where he befriended Will Ogilvie, who may have influenced his switch to oil.

After the war, Comfort served on the Board of Directors and various committees at the Art Gallery of Toronto, and was Director of the National Gallery of Canada from 1959 until 1965. During his time as the Director of the National Gallery of Canada, he helped the National Gallery of Canada move into the Lorne building in 1960. He was also a member of the Canadian Society of Graphic Art, Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, and Canadian Group of Painters, and held executive positions in a number of art organizations. He received an honorary doctorate from Mount Allison University in 1958. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. His extensive involvement during his life with artists' organizations indicates his strong belief in the importance of art integrated with society.

The Canadian National Railway commissioned Captain Vancouver for Hotel Vancouver in 1939. After months of research and planning, Comfort decided to depict a hypothetical encounter between Captain George Vancouver and an unnamed Indian chief at a potlatch ceremony. Comfort researched the clothing of the era and consulted Aboriginal anthropologist Dr. Marius Barbeau and others. The painting was removed in 1969 when the hotel was renovated. The wife of Governor General of Canada Roland Michener discovered the work after it was briefly misplaced and donated it to the University of British Columbia. From this time aboriginal viewers have raised concern over the representation of the First Nations people, as Captain Vancouver physically stands triumphantly over the aboriginal men. In 1997, Kwakiutl artist David Neel made the Captain Vancouver Portrait Mask, a carved mixed media mask of the captain. Neel made this work to critique the mural and its depiction of First Nations history and society. Also in 1997, Edmonton based artist Jane Ash Poitras painted a new mural representing the same scene with the intention to critique and re negotiate Comfort's depiction of First Nations people.