Edwin Holgate

Edwin Holgate was a pivotal figure in Canadian art, renowned for his versatility across various mediums and his contribution to the evolution of modernism. Born in Allandale, Ontario, Holgate’s family moved to Jamaica when he was three, where his father worked as an engineer. At age five, he returned to Toronto for schooling, and in 1901, the family settled in Montreal. Holgate began studying at the Art Association of Montreal in 1910 with Maurice Cullen and William Brymner, later continuing his studies in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.

Holgate’s artistic journey was marked by his service as an official Canadian war artist with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. Post-war, he returned to Montreal but found the art scene had shifted. In 1946, he moved to the Laurentians, continuing to create art that blended traditional and modernist elements. Holgate’s work is represented in numerous collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.