B. C. Binning is one of this century's foremost Canadian artists who is best known for his lively line drawings and for his geometric, non-figurative abstract paintings. He was also revered as an outstanding art educator who believed fervently in the necessity of arts education for everyone.

Bertram Charles Binning was born February 10, 1909 in Medicine Hat, Alberta. At the age of five, he moved with his family to Vancouver where he was educated and developed his affinity to the West coast and its environment. His early interest in art was nurtured during an extended stay in hospital, where he spent many idle hours drawing. Following graduation from Kitsilano High School in 1927, he enrolled in the Vancouver School of Applied and Decorative Arts and began his formal art education. There he studied drawing with Frederick Varley, painting with Jock MacDonald and forged his life long interest in art and education. In 1934, two years after his graduation, he accepted a job as Drawing Instructor at the Vancouver School of Art and spent the next fifteen years teaching, drawing, and expanding his knowledge of art through a number of foreign sabbaticals, including studying with Henry Moore in London, England.

B.C. Binning joined the School of Architecture at the University of British Columbia in 1949, a position which assisted him in furthering his firm beliefs that art should be an integral part of the community. This was evidenced by his initiating childrens' Saturday Morning classes at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1941 and by his establishing the Fine Arts Gallery and the Student Union collection of Canadian art on the U.B.C. campus. In 1955, he founded the Department of Fine Arts and held the chairman's position until 1968. Despite failing health, he continued to teach at the university until his death in 1976. During his tenure as professor at the university, he remained an active artist and maintained an impressive exhibition schedule. Along with a number of exhibitions in major Canadian cities, he also had work included in the prestigious Sao Paulo and Venice International Biennales. His work can be found in many private and public collections throughout Canada including: the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. He received many honours during his career, including the Royal Architectural Institute's Allied Arts Award in 1962. In 1971 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.