Artist Information
Artist
Frederick Stanley Haines, RCA (1879-1960)Role
PainterDate made
n.d.Time Period
20th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in Meaford on the Georgian Bay, Ontario coast, Frederick Stanley Haines was an accomplished Canadian painter, art curator and teacher well known for his Ontario landscapes and very active in the arts community. He held many prominent positions in art societies, galleries and schools. Haines moved to Toronto in 1896, at age 17, to pursue his ambition of becoming an artist. He painted portraits to finance his studies at the Central Ontario School of Art. He first exhibited with the Ontario Society of Artists in 1901 and was later elected a member. In 1913, Haines travelled to Belgium, where he studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux Arts, Antwerp, and was awarded a gold medal in figure painting. In 1919, Haines became an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy and started making his first prints. A year later, he was appointed Secretary, Department of Graphic Art, Canadian National Exhibition and by 1924 was its commissioner of Fine Arts.
Haines was elected President of the Ontario Society of Artists in 1924. In 1928 he was appointed Curator, Art Gallery of Toronto, a post he held until his appointment as Principal of the Ontario College of Art in 1932. During these years, Haines achieved recognition for his landscapes, working in watercolour, oil and gouache, and also did engravings and other prints. In 1939, Haines was elected president of the Royal Canadian Academy. As principal of the Ontario College of Art, he introduced new practices he had seen during his student days at the Académie Royale des Beaux Arts in Antwerp. And while Haines did not work in the abstract himself, but he was open to those who did. After a distinguished 18 year teaching career he retired from the College in 1951 at the age of 72. Haines returned to full time painting and to his home studio in Thornhill. He died at the age of 81. The following year a memorial exhibit of his work was held at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Haines was a founding member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, and the Society of Canadian Painter-Etchers and Engravers. He also was a colleague and friend of the famed Canadian Group of Seven.
