E.J. Hughes, described by Jack Shadbolt as "the most engaging intuitive painter of the BC landscape since Emily Carr", is truly an icon of modern day Canadian art. His characteristic style of realism combined with a vivid, often stark use of color, has made his imagery unmistakable for more than 60 years. More than mere romantic depiction of nature, his work subtly shows the intervention of man and industry in the landscape.
Edward John Hughes was born February 17, 1913 in North Vancouver, BC, and passed away at the age of 93 in 2007. He was the eldest of four children of Edward Samuel Hughes and Katherine McLean. "He drew almost before he could speak" claimed his mother, who encouraged his talents by supplying drawing materials and later, private drawing lessons. His early life was exceptional in only one way: he loved to be alone and spent most his idle hours sketching and reading children's books and comics. He attended Ridgeway Elementary and North Vancouver High Schools and enrolled in the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts in 1929 where he studied with Frederick Horsman Varley, a member of the Group of Seven. The art school focused his talents and opened the world of art for Hughes introducing him to the work of Raphael, Gainsborougha and Rivera, along whom with Varley; became major influences upon his art.
Following graduation from art school, he formed a business partnership with colleagues Paul Goranson and Orville Fisher. As commercial artists, they were commissioned to paint a number of heroic murals including a large work for the BC Government which was displayed in the San Francisco World's Fair in 1939, In 1942, during the Second World War, Hughes became one of Canada's official war artists and traveled to England and Alaska where he depicted concern for ordinary man caught up in the world wide tragedy. Following the War, he moved with his wife Fern to Victoria, BC and began a struggling life as a painter. IN 1951, the Hughes; concern for finances came to an end as he was signed to an exclusive contract for his life's work by Dr. Max Stern of the Dominion Gallery in Montreal. He has been painting prolifically since.
Since his first exhibition of dry point and linocut prints with Goranson and Fisher at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1935, he has exhibited regularly and has his work included in numerous private, corporate and public collections across Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, The Vancouver Art Gallery, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Beaverbrook Gallery in Fredericton and the Artists For Kids Gallery. He has received many honors including an Emily Carr Scholarship nominated by Lawren Harris in 1947, numerous Canada Council Fellowships and Honorary Doctorates from the University of Victoria in 1994 and the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1997.
