Oscar Cahén

Oscar Cahén
Life & Work by Jaleen Grove
Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de (French, 1864–1901)
A painter and printmaker best known for his depictions of Parisian nightlife, who created
a vast body of work despite physical and psychological hardships. Toulouse-Lautrec was
celebrated by both the avant-garde and the general public, and the distinctive aesthetic
of his turn-of-the-century posters influenced commercial art well into the twentieth
century.
Town, Harold (Canadian, 1924–1990)
Town was a founding member of Painters Eleven and a leader in Toronto’s art scene in
the 1950s and 1960s. An internationally recognized abstract artist, he created paintings,
collages, sculptures, and prints with brilliant effect and developed a unique form of
monotype, “single autographic prints.” (See Harold Town: Life & Work by Gerta Moray.)
Trier, Walter (Czech/British/Canadian, 1890–1951)
A Jewish resident of Prague in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Trier
relocated to Berlin, then to England in 1936, and later to Canada. He produced anti-Nazi
caricatures and, as a commercial artist, he illustrated for Lilliput magazine and drew
many covers for The New Yorker. He was also a book illustrator and designer.
Tupy, Denis (Czech/Canadian, b. 1929)
An accomplished maker of ceramic moulds, Tupy was cofounder of Blue Mountain
Pottery, a Canadian pottery brand collected internationally and renowned for its unique
glazing process. In 1960 Tupy formed Canadian Ceramic Craft, which created moulds
similar to those used in Blue Mountain Pottery.
underpainting
A term that refers to the first layer of a painting, executed in order to set values that will
be carried out through the course of painting the work. In general most or all of the
underpainting is covered by subsequent layers of paint.
Watson, Sydney H. (Canadian, 1911–1981)
A commercial artist, painter, and educator, Watson was a member of the Canadian
Group of Painters and an instructor and eventually head of the Ontario College of Art
(now OCAD University). His work is held by the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa;
the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinberg, Ontario; and Hart House at the
University of Toronto.
Weber, Max (American, 1881–1961)
A Russian-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, and writer, trained as an artist in Paris.
Weber’s early admiration and adoption of European modernist movements—including
Fauvism and Cubism—made him one of the most significant artists of the American
avant-garde.
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