Eric Aldwinckle was an Official Second World War artist, designer and one of the most prominent illustrators of the 20th century.
13 Facts About Eric Aldwinckle
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Eric Aldwinckle's works include the current Great Seal of Canada, adopted in 1955.
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Eric Aldwinckle apprenticed with printers in Toronto in the 1920s and learned the graphic design trade along the way.
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Eric Aldwinckle struck out on his own in 1930, and built a successful design practice on corporate work and illustration, including several covers for Maclean's and illustrating for Mayfair magazine.
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Eric Aldwinckle was a regular part-time instructor at the Ontario College of Art.
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Eric Aldwinckle applied and was accepted, receiving a commission in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
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Eric Aldwinckle attained the rank of Flight Lieutenant while covering RCAF operations in Coastal Command and the 2nd Tactical Air Force.
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Eric Aldwinckle returned to his Toronto design practice in late 1945.
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Eric Aldwinckle then worked as Graphic Arts Designer for the University of Toronto from 1948 to 1953.
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Eric Aldwinckle was not a prolific fine artist which guaranteed him a low profile in comparison to other war artists, such as Alex Colville, Lawren P Harris or Jack Shadbolt.
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Eric Aldwinckle was an out-of-the-box thinker decades before the term became popular.
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Eric Aldwinckle was a student of Theosophy, an accomplished chef, raconteur, astrologer, composer of music, playwright, writer, and social critic.
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Eric Aldwinckle enjoyed mentoring young artists, and influenced the careers of the late composer Harry Somers, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Christopher Chapman, muralist York Wilson and designer Theo Dimson.