Born in 1930, his fascination with wildlife
began as a boy, when he artistically documented all the birds
living the vicinity of his Toronto home. Believing he
couldn't earn enough to live on from his art, Bateman became
a teacher, continued to paint and traveled extensively in
his spare time.
We see examples of his early experiments with a number of
painting styles. A 1962 Andrew Wyeth exhibit of paintings
inspired Bateman to adopt realism as the permanent style for
his own work. As a naturalist, wildlife subjects held
great fascination for him.
Bateman, his children and his wife Birgit talk candidly about
his life and their affair, which broke up his first marriage.
Bateman's 1977 decision to enter the reproduction market
became a huge controversy that has coloured his reputation
as an artist. He wanted to make his work accessible
to more people, so he personally signs from 950 - 12,000 copies
of each of his paintings. Today, Bateman prints are
sold all over the world - in 500 shops in Canada alone.
Critics say these prints are just overpriced posters that
cheapen the legitimate art market and that they have barred
Bateman from showings in most of the major art galleries of
the country.
Described as "ambitious," Bateman's schedule is so full these
days that he has two assistants to help him organize his time.
"I've always felt it was a sin against your creation and
your being here to just diddle away doing nothing," he said.
Original Air Date - October 19, 1997
Links
Robert
Bateman's Ideas
Robert
Bateman's Virtual Art Gallery
(Note: CBC does not endorse the content of external
sites)
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