“David Lloyd Blackwood, CM, O Ont, printmaker, painter (born November 7, 1941 in Wesleyville, NL; died July 2, 2022 in Port Hope, ON). was considered one of Canada’s most important etchers (see printmaking). Dubbed “Newfoundland’s gothic master” by the Globe and Mail, Blackwood’s work often depicts the treacherous seafaring life of his native Newfoundland. He taught at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario, and served as honorary chair of the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Blackwood received a scholarship from the Government of Newfoundland to study printmaking at the Ontario College of Art (now the Ontario of College of Art and Design University) in Toronto. Blackwood graduated in 1963. That same year, the National Gallery of Canada purchased one of his etchings. He also began teaching drawing and painting at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario, in 1963. He taught there at least one day a week for 25 years. From 1969 to 1975, he was also artist in residence at the University of Toronto‘s Erindale College in Mississauga, where there is now a gallery named after him.

Although Blackwood maintained his primary residence and studio in Port Hope from 1973 until his death in 2022, his attachment in his subject matter was to his Newfoundland past; particularly to his native Wesleyville (now New-Wes-Valley) on Bonavista Bay, where he also maintained a studio until the late 2010s. Around this setting, Blackwood created an almost epic story celebrating the community’s skippers and captains. Blackwood saw himself as part of Newfoundland tradition, as a balladeer who tells a story in visual images.
Blackwood’s works have been included in collections at The Rooms, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, and in the Royal Collection of Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. In his career, he had more than 90 solo shows and two major retrospectives. He was represented by Emma Butler Gallery in St John’s for much of his career.” – The Canadian Encyclopedia

David Blackwood: Unique Works From the Artist’s Studio opens tomorrow and continues until May 24 at the Emma Butler Gallery.

Images: Cyril’s Kite (Monotype, 15 x 36 in, 1996); Enclosure with Red and Blue Doors (Watercolour, 21 x 29 in, 1987): Gros Morne Park (Watercolour 21 x 29 in, 1987) courtesy Emma Butler Gallery.