Donald at Eva Lake in 1962.

Introduction

Dr. Flather was a highly talented man who combined his love of the outdoors with his love of art to produce many wonderful works. Over his lifetime, he produced in excess of 400 paintings, which extensively covered Canadian landscapes from coast to coast, as well as plants and animals. Although a teacher by vocation, he dedicated a great deal of his life (circa 1919-1990) to his painting and developed his own unique style which combines elements of French Impressionism and the Group of Seven.

Dr. Flather was a colleague of Lawren Harris, founder of the Group of Seven and the two men worked together for several years on the executive of the Federation of Canadian Artists (click here to go to their site), of which Dr. Flather was an original and founding member. From 1938, Dr. Flather exhibited many times with the B.C.Federation of Artists (of which he was Secretary of in the 40's and 50's) in Vancouver, and even displayed paintings at The Art Gallery of Toronto (March, 1950). Following this, he also acted as National Treasurer of The Federation of Canadian Artists. He was a very modest man, and did not devote much time or effort to showing his art, rather he preferred to circulate it amongst friends and Family.

After growing up in the Shuswap Lake region, Donald M. Flather came to Vancouver in his twenties, at which time he began to paint more in his free time. He graduated from U.B.C. with his B.A. and M.A.. He took teacher training and began teaching at Templeton, and taught at Britannia and King George High Schools. At King George he was Vice Principal, and he organized the Vancouver Night School for several years at King Edward Campus. Dr. Flather's Ph.D. in Education was conferred at the University of Washington in 1950. He and his lovely wife Grace raised a family of three boys, Elwood, Barrie and Verne- all of whom went on to become medical doctors, raising families of their own.

Dr. Flather's works show a wonderful combining of his roles of teacher, botanist, biologist, scientist and painter, and successfully integrate his knowledge with his art. One of his greatest wishes was that others be able to view and enjoy through his paintings the world as he saw it- full of beauty. His paintings are now widely held in collections in Canada, Asia, Indonesia, the USA and Britain.

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Interesting Donald Flather story:
In 1937, Donald was approached by one of his high school students, Jean. Jean asked Donald if he would be kind enough to sign her Annual School Year Book. Humbly, Donald said I can do a little better than that and quickly sketched the following landscape scene in Jean's year book on November 25, 1937:

Below is the year book Class Photo (Donald top row, center):

1. Circa 1945 -1955. Annual BC Artists Exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery - Juried Shows.
Donald participated in many of these -usually exhibiting 2 of his works in each, alongside great artists like Emily Carr and Lawren Harris.

2. March 21 to April 18, 1991. Solo Show -North Vancouver Court House and City Hall.
Approximately 40 of Donald's paintings were on Public Display only.

3. June 29 -July 30, 1997. Solo show -The Plaza Galleries.
Approximately 25 works on display.

4. Jan. 5 -Feb. 1, 1998. "Canada's Majestic Seasons". Solo show held at The West Vancouver Public Library.
Approximately 25 works on display.

5. Spring, 1999. Featured Artist in Beautiful BC Magazine. Articel titled: "The Secret Life of Donald Flather".

Written by Daniel Wood.
Quote: "He painted for over 50 years, totally unrecognized, every week, every month, every year." Article contained 7 paintings and was approx. 8 pages. Click here for details...
en Francais...

6. April 7 to April 29, 2000. "Unveil the Trail" -joint show held in Victoria in support of the Trans Canada Trail Project.
9 paintings on display.

7. June 26 - July 18, 2000.

"Pioneers in Canadian Art". Joint show with Mildred Valley Thornton held at The Federation of Canadian Artists and Westbridge Fine Art.
24 of Donald's paintings on display.

Details:
As part of the fundraising campaign for The Federation of Canadian Artists, this show will be one of the first of its kind for the Federation, as it will look at Artists who helped mold the Canadian and BC Art scene during the period when the Federation was formed in 1941. Lawren Harris, Emily Carr and Donald Flather were original members of this important Artist's Association.

Both Donald and Mildred shared a concern for both the Environment as well as Canada's Indigenous Peoples. Both dedicated a great deal of their lives to documenting Canada's stunning Wilderness, as well as important Cultures and their Peoples.

8. October, 2002. Vancouver Art Gallery permanent collection.

9. "ART FOR A CAUSE"
Exhibition Dates: August 25, 2003 thru December 12, 2003.
Location: Centennial Theatre for Performing Arts, North Vancouver.

10. Donald M. Flather - A Solo Exhibition

Opening night:
Thursday, Dec. 2nd, 7:00- 9:00pm
Petley Jones Gallery
2239 Granville St., Vancouver, BC

Over 40 paintings were shown, including many never previously exhibited. Exhibition Dates Dec. 2-11, 2004

11.MAGAZIN'art. Winter 2006 issue. 2 Featured articles: 1 en francais, 1 in English. 6 paintings shown, article written by Tamara Pastor.

Paintings reproduced in the Article: Just click on the images to see them in detail.

12. "Landscapes Across Canada"
A special solo art exhibition featuring the artworks of Donald Flather - Sept. - Oct. 2008.
Location: Centennial Theatre for Performing Arts, North Vancouver.

13. Vancouver Sun Newspaper, April 24, 2010, Section: The Green Man
Article written by Randy Shore that mentions Donald Flather as being instrumental in creating "Victory Gardens" in Kerrisdale.

Click here to read all about this interesting article about Donald Flather...

http://www.magazinart.com
The site of Canada's Premiere Art Magazine, featuring Donald Flather in the Winter, 2006 issue.