THOMAS REID MacDONALD. [1908-1978] RCA. Official War Artist, CA, WWII.

Thomas Reid MacDonald was born in Montreal. He studied at the Monument National and Art Association Life Classes under Edmond Dyonnet. He also studied under Adam Sheriff Scott (he later assisted with the teaching). From 1929 he exhibited at the Art Association of Montreal Spring Exhibitions, and from 1931 at the RCA. He also exhibited at the Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto, and the Arts Club of Montreal. He enlisted in the Canadian Army during WWII and was sent overseas. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1944 and appointed an official war artist. He painted portraits and documented the First Canadian Infantry Division in Italy. He was discharged in 1945 and resumed his painting career. In 1946 he was appointed Head of the Art Department at Mount Allison University, Sackville, N.B. In 1947 he became the Director of the Art Gallery of Hamilton, a post which he held for thirty years. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1947 and a full member in 1957. In 1950 he married Rae Hendershot, a Hamilton artist. Influenced by American “magic realism”, he was one of the first to acquire works by these artists for a Canadian Gallery. A painter of still-lifes, interiors, landscapes, and nudes, he was known for his figurative and portrait works (especially self-portraits). His work is in numerous private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canadian War Museum, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Confederation Art Centre, Charlottetown, etc.

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