William Abernathy Ogilvie

ARCA, CGP, CSGA, CSPWC, MBE  (1901-1989)

Born in Stutterheim, Cape Province, South Africa, Ogilvie studied with Erich Mayer in Johannesburg, South Africa (1921-1924); and under Kimon Nicoliades at the Art Students’ League, New York City (1927-1930). He came to Toronto, Ontario in 1925. Working in oil, ink, coloured chalk, acrylic and watercolour, his subjects include landscape, figures, urban scenes, and murals. He painted in Algonquin Park and Georgian Bay in Ontario, Gaspé in Quebec, South Africa in 1954, Italy in 1957 and at the Salmon Glacier on the border of British Columbia and Alaska in 1958. He was Director of the school of the Art Association of Montreal (1938-1941), Official War Artist with the Army (1942-1945) in Sicily, Italy and Normandy, taught at the Ontario College of Art, Toronto (1946-1957), and was president of the CGP in 1948. He visited South Africa in 1954 and received a Canada Council award to go to Italy in 1957. Ogilvie exhibited with the RCA in 1931, 1932 and 1950, with the AAM in 1931, and at the Tate Gallery in 1938. His work is in the collections of the AGO, CWM, EAG, LAG, NGC, an WAG.