David Blackwood, iconic Newfoundland artist, dies at 80
CBC
World-renowned artist, teacher, and Newfoundlander David Blackwood has died.
Blackwood passed away Saturday at his home in Port Hope, Ontario, surrounded by family after a long illness.
His work presented working life in outport Newfoundland as something vast and dark, with mysterious depths beneath every surface.
Blackwood's death comes not even a month after the loss of another equally legendary artist from Newfoundland and Labrador, Christopher Pratt.
Born in 1941 in Wesleyville, Blackwood was raised among people working on the sea who would continue to inspire his work throughout his life.
An artistic prodigy from a young age, Blackwood was awarded a Government of Newfoundland Centennial scholarship to train at the Ontario College of Art. By age 23, his work was being displayed in the National Gallery.
Blackwood is perhaps best known for his blue-black etchings and prints, which often portray scenes from outport life, mummers, icebergs, whales, and men at sea, all formed of contrasting dark shadows and bright white light.
"David Blackwood created a mythology for Newfoundland," says Emma Butler, gallery owner and friend of the Blackwoods.
The Emma Butler Gallery opened in 1987 featuring David Blackwood's work.
"People know about those amazing stories of the shipwrecks and sealing disasters, stories of mummering and images of splitting tables and flakes and all these things."
"People know about Newfoundland through the images of David Blackwood," she said.
Some of his most recognizable works are the series of prints made in the 1960s and 1970s, The Lost Party, detailing the 1914 Newfoundland sealing disaster with harrowing scenes of sealers in boats, a dark, rich world around them.
With over 50 etchings in the series, it remains one of the largest thematically linked series of prints in Canadian history.
Blackwood's work has been exhibited internationally, with over 90 solo shows, and two major retrospective exhibitions.