John Topelko - Artist Info

About John Topelko

  • Biography

    John Topelko first met A.Y. Jackson (he painted his portrait) in 1949 at the Banff School of Fine Art, where Jackson was teaching at the time. Topelko would later cross paths with the Group of Seven artists in Toronto (where the two would frequently share streetcar rides into downtown) and in the Ottawa's Capital Region, while Jackson was living in Manotick, Ontario. After admiring a portrait which Topelko had produced of his grandmother, Jackson requested that Topelko produce a work depicting his likeness. As a source for the portrait, Jackson provided a file photograph of himself from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection archives and promised Topelko one of his works in return for the port...

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