BC ARTISTS: Robert Samuel Alexander

Robert Samuel Alexander

August 25 1916 - April 20 1974

Vancouver School of Art (Diploma, Honors 1947)
B.C. Society of Fine Arts (Member 1942 - 1967)
Royal Canadian Academy
Britannia Beach Group (Instructor)

Self Portrait, 1962

Robert Alexander was born in Vancouver, B.C. in 1916, and died in North Vancouver in 1974. He was married to Irene Cattelle Porter, who was also an artist.

R.S. Alexander and Irene Cattelle Porter, 1949

Who's Who in Northwest Art noted that he was a painter, and had "experimented extensively with fresco (secco) using casein as an emulsion". He designed cartoons for fresco panels for the "new" (now the only) Hotel Vancouver using Indian legends as the theme, and also did murals for the now-demolished Grosvenor Hotel on Howe Street in Vancouver. He designed street and building decorations for the visit of King George and Queen Elizabeth in 1939. He also worked for the David Hall Sign Company from at least 1939 to 1949.

In 1941 he had work in the RCA's 62nd Annual exhibition, held at the Art Association of Montreal.

Alexander was elected as a member of the B.C. Society of Fine Arts in 1942, and exhibited in a number of their Annual Exhibitions.

Portrait of W.P. Weston by R.S. Alexander, courtesy Renee Alexander.

He graduated with honours from the Vancouver School of Art in 1947, winning a scholarship, and taking further studies at the Art Students' League in New York c1954-55. He did portraits, figures, murals, and illustrations.

Brochure cover, 1946

One of his specialties was portraits, and he did them for subjects in Toronto, Ottawa, Regina, Victoria, Vasar, New York, and Tokyo, Japan, as well as numerous portraits in Vancouver (including two portaits of the artist W.P. Weston).

He completed large mural commissions for the Officer's Mess at HMCS Discovery, Vancouver, and for the Penticton Airport. The latter mural has been restored and relocated into the Penticton Civic Centre.

In 2013 I arranged to visit HMCS Discovery to view the mural, which had survived since 1945. Renee Alexander, the artist's daughter, also came along on the visit. The mural is above two pairs of double doors to the Officer's Mess.

Mural detail, right side.

Mural detail, center.

Mural detail, left side.

He illustrated school text books for W.J. Gage and Prentice-Hall Publishers. He taught at the Vancouver art school and opened a studio workshop in Vancouver in 1954 with his wife. A letterhead from the time noted "Irene Catelle Porter - R.S. Alexander - Commercial and Fine Arts, Studio 23 - 441 Seymour St., Vancouver, B.C." Another letterhead had a studio address in the 1400 block West Broadway.

He exhibited with the Royal Canadian Academy in 1941 and 1954, one picture per exhibition. He also exhibited work at the Edmonton Museum of Arts, and in the Northwest Artists exhibitions in Seattle.

Cartoon for Grosvenor Hotel mural

Catalogue cover image by Alexander

One of his paintings was selected as the front cover image for the 1951 43rd Annual Exhibition catalogue of the B.C. Society of Fine Arts.

Honorable Mention, 1939 B.C. Artists' exhibition

Honorable Mention, 1941 B.C. Artists' exhibition

1960s Northwest Artists entry forms

Also, per card file at Vancouver Art Gallery Library:
B.C. Society of Artists 1956-62
VAG annual B.C. Artists' exhibitions: 1953-58; 1961; 1965-66; 1968

1975-76 memorial exhibition

1984 memorial exhibition

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

DATE	EXHIBITION	LOCATION

1939 July 4 - 23	Six Local Artists	VAG

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

DATE	EXHIBITION	ARTWORK

1936 Aug. 18 - 28	David Spencer B.C. Artists' Golden Jubilee	"a young, fair-haired man in a blue shirt"
1936 Sept. 18 - Oct. 11	VAG B.C. Artists 5th Annual	Portrait of my Brother
		The Boy in the Blue Beret
1936 Oct. 15 - 20	VAG B.C. Artists Chilliwack Exhibition	The Boy in the Blue Beret
1937 Sept. 17 - Oct. 10	VAG B.C. Artists 6th Annual	Ukrainian Dancer
		Deck Hand
1938 Sept. 16 - Oct. 9	VAG B.C. Artists 7th Annual	The Yellow Coat
		Cachazan
1939 Sept. 15 - Oct. 8	VAG B.C. Artists 8th Annual	Blue Mood
		Vivian
		Portrait Study
1941 Sept. 26 - Oct. 19	VAG B.C. Artists 10th Annual	Winter-Set
		Portrait Study
		Blue and Gold
		Inside Looking Out
1942 May 15 - 31	BCSFA 32nd Annual	Dark Russian
		Portrait
1942 July 7 - Sept. 2	VAG B.C. Artists 1st Annual Summer	Self Portrait
		Marie
1942 Sept. 25 - Oct. 18	VAG B.C. Artists 11th Annual	Portrait Study
1943 May 15 - June 6	BCSFA 33rd Annual	Young Soldier
		Soldier Lineman
		Self Portrait with Fitch
		Self Portrait
		Chief's Daughter, Atlin, B.C.
		Storm on Lake Atlin
1943 July 2 - Aug. 25	VAG B.C. Artists 2nd Annual Summer	Soldier Lineman
		Self-portrait with fitch
		Storm on Lake Atlin
1943 Sept. 25 - Oct. 20	VAG B.C. Artists 12th Annual	Portrait
1944 May 13 - June 4	BCSFA 34th Annual	Portrait
		Tide Flats
1944 July 4 - Aug. 30	VAG B.C. Artists 3rd Annual Summer	Portrait
1945 Sept. 22 - Oct. 21	VAG B.C. Artists 14th Annual	Commodore Brock, R.C.N.V.R.
		Sketch
1946 May 31 - June 23	BCSFA 36th Annual	November
		Black and Copper
1946 July 2 - 28	VAG Jubilee Exhibition	Portrait of Alf Karlsen
1946 Sept. 21 - Oct. 13	VAG B.C. Artists 15th Annual	Lumber Mill
		Sketch
1946 ? - ?	VAG Selections from 15th BCA	Lumber Mill
1946 Oct. ? - ?	FCA 40 Selections from 15th BCA	Sketch
1947 April 12 - 13	WVCAC Exhibition of Fine Arts	Tide Flats
		November
1947 May 9 - June 1	BCSFA 37th Annual	Mrs. A. Herstein
		Figures in a Park
1947 July 8 - 27	VAG B.C. Artists Summer Exhibition	Figures in Park
1947 Sept. 20 - Oct. 12	VAG B.C. Artists 16th Annual	Scarred Landscape
1948 May 18 -June 6	BCSFA 38th Annual	Portrait of Irene
		Canadian Gothic
1949 May 3 - 22	BCSFA 39th Annual	Michael
1949 July 12 - July 31	VAG Stanley Park in Pictures	Lost Lagoon, Early Morning
1949 Oct. 8 - 30	VAG B.C. Artists 18th Annual	Woman With Comb
1950 April 25 - May 14	BCSA 40th Annual	Self Portrait with Fitch
		Double Image on Lake Atlin
1950 Nov. 28 - Dec. 17	VAG B.C. Artists 19th Annual	Yellow Tree
		The Pond
1951 April 24 - May 13	VAG BCSA 41st Annual	Self Portrait
1951 Summer	Park Royal BCSA Summer Exhibition	Double Image On Lake Atlin
		Canadian Gothic
		Self Portrait
		The Yellow Tree
		The Pond
1952 April 1 - 20	VAG BCSA 42nd Annual	Beached Boats
		Still Life
1953 May 5 - 31	VAG BCSA 43rd Annual	Loretta
		McKay Creek
		"Skipper"
1954 May 25 - June 13	VAG BCSA 44th Annual	Tahltan Chief
		Edge of a Forest
		In a Bush
1956 Feb. 28 - March 18	VAG BCSA 46th Annual	Gray Morning
		Bottles
1957 March 5 - 24	VAG BCSA 47th Annual	Red Sky at Night
1958 Feb. 4 - 22	VAG BCSA 48th Annual	Shuhwynope
		Quatsi

References - BIBLIOGRAPHY

Refer to BIBLIO.

References - GROUP EXHIBITIONS

100 YEARS OF B.C. ART (refer to VAG58)

B.C. PAINTINGS BURNABY 58 (refer to BAG58)

B.C. ARTISTS 27th ANNUAL (refer to BCA58)

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM - NORTHWEST ARTISTS EXHIBITIONS 1914 - 1975
Refer to NWA BC artists by exhibition
Refer to NWAA BC artists alphabetically

SOME PAINTERS OF THE B.C. MAINLAND (refer to AGGV66)

PAINTING '66 - VANCOUVER CENTENNIAL AWARD EXHIBITION (refer to BCA66)

References - GENERAL

WHO'S WHO IN NORTHWEST ART (refer to WWNA41)

ROYAL CANADIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS - EXHIBITIONS & MEMBERS 1880 - 1979 (refer to RCA81)

ARTISTS IN CANADA 1982 - UNION LIST OF ARTISTS' FILES (refer to AIC82)

A DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN ARTISTS (refer to M)
Brief biography, includes info from 1961 "document from artist".

BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF ARTISTS IN CANADA (refer to BIAC03)
5 references cited for Alexander.

VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY - B.C. ARTISTS FILES (refer to VPL)

GREATER VANCOUVER ART GALLERIES 1954-2020 (refer to GVAG20)
2 references to Alexander

Email correspondence with Renee Alexander, daughter, November - December 2010.

Interview with Renee Alexander, daughter, North Vancouver, December 15 2010

Interview with Renee Alexander, daughter, North Vancouver, March 2 2011

Visit to HMCS Discovery March 22, 2013

Gift of R.S. Alexander and Irene Cattelle Porter collection from Renee Alexander, 2021

Clippings

"A striking portrait study of a young, fair-haired man in a blue shirt is the work of R. Alexander ... "
From "400 B.C. Pictures in Jubilee Art Show"
Vancouver Sun, August 15 1936

"Special Show at Art Gallery"
Vancouver Sun, July 6 1939

"Other works accepted include: ... a self-portrait in oils by R.S. Alexander ..."
From "Western Artists Capture Interest At Toronto Show" by Palette
Vancouveer Province, November 20 1941

" ... together with oil and watercolour paintings by ... R.S. Alexander ... all contribute much to this extraordinary show."
From "B.C. Society of Fine Arts Display Sets New High Mark" by Palette
Vancouver Province, May 16 1942

"Well-known Vancouver artists recently elected (BCSFA) members include ... R.S. Alexander ..."
From "B.C. Artists' Display To Calgary For Exhibition" by Palette
Vancouver Province, May-June 1942

"Portraits this year are numerous and unusually effective. R.S. Alexander has painted in dashing colors a large composition of a girl, lacking in pictorial structure but carried out with gusto and the glow of exuberant youth."
From "Colorful Display Presented In Exhibition By B.C. Artists" by Palette
Vancouver Province, September 19 1942

"Marjorie Harford (sic) and A. Alexander (sic) contribute portraits in oil which rank high in general proficiency."
From "B.C. Artists Evading War's Responsibility" by Mildred Valley Thornton
Vancouver Sun, September 26 1942

"Among other prominent exhibitors are ... R.S. Alexander ... "
From "Summer Show at Gallery Major Event for Art Lovers" by Palette
Vancouver Province, July 7 1943

"Other artists showing creditable work are ... R.S. Alexander ... "
From "Notable Exhibits of Artists' Work" by Mildred Valley Thornton
Vancouver Sun (presumed), May 1944

" ... atmosphere and depth are developed in the satisfying compositions of R.S. Alexander ("Figupres (sic) in the Park"), and P.G. Cowley Brown ("The Sound, Victoria")."
From "B.C. Art Exhibit Non-Experimental"
News Herald, May 12 1947

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