1. Charles Comfort's father found work with the treasury department for the city of Winnipeg.
20 Facts About Charles Comfort
1. 2.
In 1914, he began work as a commercial artist at the newly established Brigdens commercial art branch office in Winnipeg established by Frederick Henry Brigden, and by 1916 Charles Comfort started attending evening classes at the Winnipeg School of Art.
3.
Charles Comfort saved money to attend the Art Students League of New York under Robert Henri and Euphrasius Tucker.
4.
Charles Comfort visited the Group's inaugural 1920 exhibition, which inspired Charles Comfort to work on landscape paintings, a theme he continued throughout his lifetime.
5.
Charles Comfort returned to Winnipeg in 1922 for his first exhibition of watercolours at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
6.
Charles Comfort was commissioned to design a mural for Toronto's North American Life Building in 1932, the first in many he completed.
7.
Charles Comfort was one of the organizers of the 1941 Kingston Conference, a meeting of Canadian artists to discuss the role of art in society as well as other issues facing the arts at the time.
8.
Charles Comfort helped to initiate Canada's World War II War Art program, serving as an Official Second World War artist.
9.
Charles Comfort joined the Canadian Army in February 1943.
10.
Charles Comfort served as a war artist from that date until July 1946, holding the rank of major.
11.
Charles Comfort visited North-West Europe for some weeks in 1945.
12.
Charles Comfort returned to academic life after the war teaching mural painting at the Ontario College of Art, and later became Professor of Art and Archeology, University of Toronto until 1960.
13.
Charles Comfort taught primarily painting techniques, including mural-painting, and other studio courses later in his career at the university.
14.
Charles Comfort was a founding member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and contributed to the 1951 Massey Report, which led to the founding of the Canada Council, an organization that Charles Comfort helped establish.
15.
Each of the murals depicted a different national or provincial park; Charles Comfort's was Banff National Park.
16.
Charles Comfort created murals for the Canadian National Railway Montreal Central Station.
17.
Charles Comfort was a member of the Canadian Society of Graphic Art, Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, and Canadian Group of Painters, and held executive positions in a number of art organizations.
18.
Charles Comfort received an honorary doctorate from Mount Allison University in 1958.
19.
Charles Comfort was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
20.
Charles Comfort researched the clothing of the era and consulted Aboriginal anthropologist Dr Marius Barbeau and others.