Robert Bateman
I can't conceive of anything being more varied and rich and handsome than the planet Earth. And its crowning beauty is the natural world. I want to soak it up, to understand it as well as I can, and to absorb it. And then I'd like to put it together and express it in my paintings. This is the way I want to dedicate my work.
Robert Bateman
Born in Toronto, with a degree in geography from the University of Toronto, Robert Bateman taught high school for 20 years, including two years in Nigeria. He travelled around the world in 1957-58, increasing his appreciation of cultural and natural heritage. Since leaving teaching in 1976 to paint full-time, he has travelled widely with his artist/conservationist wife Birgit to many remote natural areas. The family moved to Salt Spring Island in 1985.
Bateman has been a keen artist and naturalist from his early days. He has always painted wildlife and nature, beginning with a representational style, moving through impressionism and cubism to abstract expressionism. In his early thirties he moved back to realism as a more suitable way to express the particularity of the planet. It is this style that has made him one of the foremost artists depicting the world of nature.
In the '70s and early '80s, Bateman's work began to receive critical acclaim and to attract an enormous following. His work is in many public and private collections, and several art museums, including the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, WY. Bateman has had many one-man museum shows throughout North America, including an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The retrospective show, The Art of Robert Bateman, toured Canada and the USA for two years, and a one-man show toured four cities in Russia.
Bateman's art reflects his commitment to ecology and preservation. Since the early 1960's, he has been an active member of naturalist and conservation organizations, now on a global scale. He has become a spokesman for many environmental and preservation issues and has used his artwork and limited edition prints in fund-raising efforts that have provided millions of dollars for these worthy causes.
Books about his life and art have had sales of over 1,000,000 copies. His latest book, Robert Bateman’s Canada, was released in October 2017. He has also been the subject of several films and television programs. His honours, awards and honorary doctorates are numerous and include Officer of the Order of Canada. It is in honour of Bateman's contribution to art, teaching and conservation that one public and two secondary schools have been named after him; as well, he has been awarded 14 honorary doctorates.
Many of his early works are on display at The Robert Bateman Centre on the Inner Harbour of Victoria, BC. It is a place where insights into his life and philosophies can be explored. He is associated in the public mind with pro-nature education by his work, writings and public speaking. He is a natural and gregarious teacher and his artwork is vastly instructive.
Robert Bateman is perceived by many to be one of the voices of reason and hope for healthy, rejuvenated and creative engagement with the natural world.
Major One-man Exhibitions
Tryon Gallery, London, England: 1975 & 1979 "Images of the Wild", National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa, 1981-82 (travelling exhibit of major Canadian museums)
Le Conseil International de la Chasse et de la Conservation de Gibier, Monaco, 1982 (travelling exhibition of major European cities)
Greenville County Museum of Art, South Carolina, 1985
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, 1987
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, 1986 & 1997
Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., 1987
Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA 1988
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Museum 1991
Carnegie Museum of Natural History 1991
Canadian Embassy, Tokyo, 1992 (travelling California Academy of Sciences
April '92, Los Angeles Museum of Natural History Nov '92, Vancouver Museum May '93, Victoria Art Gallery Sept '93)
National Museum of Wildlife Art, May '97- Nov.'97
Art Gallery of Algoma, September '97- November '97
Burlington Art Centre, June-July 2000
"Diversities", Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, SA, Oct. - Nov., 2000
Retrospective Tour: Wm. S. Fairfield Public Gallery, Sturgeon Bay, WI; Genesee County Museum, Mumford, NY; The Wildlife Experience, Denver, CO; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ; Bruce Museum of Arts & Sciences, Greenwich, CT; Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX, May 2002 - Nov. 2003
“Robert Bateman: A Portfolio”, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, August 2004
“The Art of Bateman” with Alan Bateman & John Bateman, Masters Gallery, Calgary, AB, 2006
“The Art of Robert Bateman” Retrospective Tour: McMichael Gallery of Canadian Art, Kleinburg, ON 2007; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE , 2007; Wildlife Experience, Denver, CO, 2008; National Museum of Wildlife Art’ Jackson Hole, W,Y 2008; San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA, 2008; Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, AB 2009
“Robert Bateman in Russia”: Russian State Museum, St. Petersburg; Ivanovo Regional State Museum; Tula Museum of Fine Art; Tsarytsyno Palace Art Museum, Moscow, Oct. 2009 – Aug. 2010
The Robert Bateman Centre, Victoria, BC – permanent exhibition, opened May 24, 2013
Public Art Museum Collections
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
Burlington Art Centre, Burlington, Ontario
Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin
Denver Art Museum
Hamilton Art Gallery, Ontario
Genesee Country Museum, New York
Glenbow Museum, Alberta
National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson WY
Important Private collections:
His Royal Highness The King Charles
His Royal Highness The Prince Philip
Her Royal Highness The late Princess Grace of Monaco
His Royal Highness The late Bernhard, Prince of the Netherlands.
