Ted Colyer BFA (1947)

A painter, draftsman and printmaker, Ted Colyer was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Whitehorse, Yukon (1961 – c.1967); lived in Tokyo, Japan for 17 years (1971 – 1988); and has lived in Squamish, British Columbia (near Vancouver) since 1988. He is a highly regarded ukiyo-e* woodblock* printmaker, his works in that medium are in numerous prominent collections including the permanent collections of the Harvard Art Museums and the Art Institute of Chicago*.

In addition to ukiyo-e* woodblock prints, his mediums include watercolors, acrylics, mixed mediums (e.g. gold leaf and silver leaf) and CEAHD lithography. His subjects include portraits, landscapes, figures, still life, interiors and seascapes. His styles could be described as Fauvism*, Naturalism*, Photo-Realism* and Realism*. The askART auction records have several good illustrations of his work; for more we suggest the artist’s website and the museum links in our sources. (1)

His art education includes studies in high school in the Yukon (1961 – c.1967) under well-known Canadian painter and sculptor Lilias Farley; figure-drawing classes at the Banff School of Fine Arts*, Alberta (c.1963); studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (c. late 1960s); a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick (1971), where he studied printmaking under David Silverberg; and, advanced studies in traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking at the Yoshida Hanga Academy, Tokyo (1972 – 1975) under Toshi Yoshida. Colyer was a professional painter and printmaker in Japan from 1975 until his return to Canada in 1988. (2)

Colyer’s works were the subject of solo exhibitions at the Acadia University Art Gallery, Wolfville, Nova Scotia in 1986 and 1996; at The Canadian Embassy Gallery, Tokyo in 1995; and, at the University of British Columbia, Asian Centre in 1996.

In 2004, his work was featured in the group exhibition “The Marguerite Michaels Collection: Japanese Prints of the 1960s and 70s” at the Art Institute of Chicago*.

His works have also been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at many prominent commercial galleries such as the Azuma Gallery, Seattle; The Zentner Collection, Emeryville, California (a San Francisco suburb); Petrie-Rogers Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona; The Verne Collection, Cleveland, Ohio; Three Cranes Gallery, Philadelphia; The Tolman Collection of New York; Yoseido Gallery, Yokohama; Kato Gallery, Tokyo; Mitsukoshi Gallery, Tokyo; Gallery Kabutoya, Tokyo; Sogetsu Kaikan Gallery, Tokyo; Genkan Gallery, American Club, Tokyo; and, Kanda's Gallery, Okinawa, Misawa, Tokyo.

According to the Canadian Heritage Information Network* and individual museum sources, his works are in the permanent collections of the Acadia University Art Gallery (Wolfville, Nova Scotia), Art Institute of Chicago (Illinois), Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum (Cambridge, Massachusetts), James House Museum (Bridgetown, Nova Scotia), Nikkei National Museum (Burnaby, B.C.), Owens Art Gallery (Mount Allison University, Sackville, N.B.), and the Yukon Archives (Whitehorse). (3)

Footnotes:

(1) Please note: “CEAHD (pronounced "SEED") Lithography stands for Computer Enhanced Analogue Hand Drawn Lithography. Computer Enhanced refers to the process of scanning and combining plates in the computer and adjusting color values. Analogue Hand Drawn means that each stage of the plates is drawn by hand. If they were drawn via mouse or any other type of computer controlled device, it would not be an analogue process, but rather a digital one.” Please see Colyer’s website for an in-depth illustrated discussion of CEAHD Lithography. Source: Ted Colyer website link http://www.tedcolyer.com/ceahd/ceahd.html – M.D. Silverbrooke.

(2) Please note: All artists and teachers mentioned in this biography have records in askART. – M.D. Silverbrooke

(3) Please note: The Ted Colyer website (see sources) lists several corporate collectors of his works, as well as the Embassy of Canada’s Prince Takamado Gallery, and the Prince and Princess Takamado of Japan who were prominent patrons of Colyer’s work. – M.D. Silverbrooke

Sources – Books:

Translocated Modernisms: Paris and Other Lost Generations (2016), edited by Emily Ballantyne, Marta Dvorák, Dean Irvine; University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa

Vancouver Art Gallery: Art Auction 2002 (2002), by George Killy; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

Inventory to Posters, Original Art & Miscellaneous Items Held at the Yukon Archives (1997), by Yukon Archives; Yukon Education, Libraries and Archives, Whitehorse

Contemporary Japanese Prints: Symbols of a Society in Transition (1985), by Lawrence Smith; British Museum Publications, London


Sources – Websites:
Canadian Heritage Information Network*

Art Institute of Chicago https://www.artic.edu/artists/101565/ted-colyer

Harvard Art Museums https://harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/175966?position=0

Acadia University Art Gallery https://acadiauniversityartgallery.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/friday-five-ted-colyers-woodblock-prints/

Nikkei National Museum https://nikkeimuseum.org/www/item_detail.php?art_id=A15750

Owens Art Gallery

Yukon Archives

James House Museum

The Verne Collection

Ted Colyer http://tedcolyer.com/

Hougen Group website

Canadian Art Price Index

* For more in-depth information about these terms and others, see AskART.com. Glossary http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx

Written and contributed to askART by M.D. Silverbrooke.