Of Moose and Monarchs

Iconic artist Charles Pachter’s work has embedded wry tongue-in-cheek humour into the lexicon of colonial Canadiana. Rendering Mounties, butter tarts, Justin Trudeau’s smouldering headshot, and the Queen herself in the aesthetic of pop-art, Pachter has in many ways shaped the aesthetic vernacular of Canadian nationalism. This exhibition brings together works spanning Pachter’s entire career, including a selection of works from his war of 1812 series and proofs from The Illustrated Journals of Suzanna Moodie which he made with Margaret Atwood.

Charles Pachter is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, historian, and lecturer. Born in Toronto, he studied art history at the University of Toronto, French literature at the Sorbonne, and painting and graphics at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. His work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the McMichael Gallery. He is held in public and private collections throughout Canada and internationally.

He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier of France’s Order of Arts and Letters, a member of the Order of Ontario, and holds honorary doctorates from Brock University, OCAD University, and the University of Toronto where he is a Senior Fellow at Massey College. He is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals.