(b. May 15, 1936; d. May 27, 2014)
“As we grow older, we realize just how limiting were our earlier conceptions. Art is something else. Art is fluid, transmutable, open-ended, never complete, and never perfect. Art is an event.”
Known for his landscape paintings of Canada’s West Coast, Robert Genn grew to be one of Canada’s most accomplished painters. He was born in Victoria, British Columbia and his education was expansive, having attended Victoria College, The University of British Columbia, and The Art Centre School in Los Angeles.
He was an avid plein air painter and loved to immerse himself completely in the outdoors while creating artwork. He traveled all over the world to paint, including the United States, Asia, Europe, and Central America.
His painting style is inspired by the Group of Seven, which were a group of Canadian artists that greatly impacted the development of landscape painting. These early 19th century artists decided to document the scenery in a fresh and contemporary style that reflected their patriotism for their country.
Robert’s works exhibit painterly techniques with loose brushstrokes and the use of bold colors. He was able to beautifully portray grand scenes on small canvases to accommodate his love for painting outdoors.
In 1998, he established the Twice-Weekly Letters which started as mailing letters to a handful of artist friends and eventually grew to a following of tens of thousands of people from all over. He wrote twice a week for over fifteen years. The subscription is still up and running to this day and sends out republished letters from Robert and new letters from his daughter, Sara.
Robert’s lifelong creation of artworks and letters left behind a lasting legacy. He is well-deserving of international recognition for his captivating and superbly rendered paintings.
To view Robert’s works, click here.