JOHN B. BOYLE. [b. 1941].

John Boyle was born and raised in London, Ontario. During his final year at high school he visited a Van Gogh exhibition in Detroit, Michigan and there decided to try his hand at painting. He met Greg Curnoe a year after graduating high school and the artist became a major influence. He attended Teachers' College and taught elementary school in St. Catharines, Ont. [1962-64]. In 1964 Boyle took a leave of absence and attended the University of Western Ontario, London [1964-65] where he met many artists and began to exhibit. In 1965 Boyle became a founding-member of the Nihilist Spasm Band (he was also a founder-member of the Niagara Artists' Cooperative, 1970). Boyle felt a need to remember Canadian heroes from medicine, literature, civil rights, sports and art, who gave Canadians a feeling of pride. In a number of works he placed himself and friends alongside heroes, vistas, and events of the city, to form a collage of historical and contemporary individuals and events. Many of his works were done in series such as the Rebel Series [1967] and the Batoche Series [1974]. Non Canadian figures also feature in some of Boyle’s work (Woody Guthrie, Buckminster Fuller, Bob Dylan etc.). His work often takes the form of boxes, constructed spaces, totems, semi-installations and such. Boyle has also contributed to the Tom Thomson legend by creating a number of works based on the late artist. Boyle has received a number of significant public commissions including two huge murals for the Queen Street subway station, Toronto (“Our Knell” 1980, 7 x 49 ft. long of baked porcelain on steel) depicting author Nellie McClung and William Lyon MacKenzie with a background of major buildings of the area. Boyle designed a stamp for Canada Post in 1974 to honour Guglielmo Marconi, the father of radio. His work is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada; Art Gallery of Ontario; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; London Art Gallery, London, Ontario; Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa; Brock University; University of Western Ontario, London, and numerous public and private collections.

Bibliography: MacDonald, “Dictionary of Canadian Artists”, [vol. 1, p347a-349a]

Provenance: Originally acquired directly from the artist.

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