Oscar Cahén

Oscar Cahén
Life & Work by Jaleen Grove
Oscar Cahén, illustration for short story, “Mail,” by John Norman Harris, Maclean’s, 1950. Prisoners in internment camps wore denim jackets with large, red circles on the back.
The circles were targets for armed guards if a prisoner attempted to escape
For its fans, abstract art signified Canada’s growing equivalence to the cultural
sophistication of the United States and Europe. Modern artists’ experimentation met with
the optimism and affluence of the postwar period when Canadians’ receptivity to new art
forms was cracking open. At the same time, the Cold War was descending, bringing
with it rampant fears of Communism and nuclear weapons. Meanwhile the trauma of
returning veterans, the acceleration of transportation, communication, and business, and
advances in science were affecting everyday life and adding new stresses.
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