An abstract artist from Vancouver, Donald Jarvis (1923-2001) was a naturally gifted artist from the start. He attended the Vancouver School of Art and Design, graduating in 1948. His mentor, Lawren Harris, persuaded him to study under Hans Hofmann, the abstract expressionist, in New York City. It was during this period that he created his celebrated collection, New York Drawings. On returning to Vancouver in 1950, he became an instructor at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, where he taught for the next 36 years. His proximity to the vast, unspoiled, sometimes daunting vistas of Canada’s west coast provided him a lifetime of access to breath-taking and poignant scenes from which he could draw inspiration as a disciplined and visionary artist.
