Peter Ewart

Artist Bio: Peter Ewart (1918-2001)

Born in Saskatchewan, Peter Ewart studied commercial art in Montreal and New York in the 1930s. While in New York, Ewart came under the influence of several major American artists including Frederick Waugh, Carl Rungius, and Belmore Browne. Ewart decided at that time to concentrate on land and seascape paintings. On his return to Montreal, Ewart worked for a number of advertisement agencies and designed posters for Canada Pacific Railway and Canada Pacific Airlines, He enlisted with the RCAF during the War. In 1946, he returned to Montreal to continue designing posters for the CPR, and he also started to paint seriously for exhibition at the Continental Gallery. Ewart visited Nova Scotia, and the painting of the shoreline near Barrington dates from this period. Ewart also exhibited in the annual Spring Shows at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. In 1947, Ewart exhibited with the Royal Canadian Academy. In 1948, Ewart moved to Vancouver and started to exhibit regularly with the Alex Fraser Gallery. In 1952, he had the first of many successful exhibitions of paintings of the Cariboo Country. His depictions of ranching life and the cowboys who worked in the Cariboo became very popular. His work is in a number of major collections in Canada and abroad, including that of Canadian Pacific.