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Robert BatemanRobert McLellan Bateman   O.C., O.B.C., R.C.A., D.F.A., D. Litt., D. Sc., LL.D., B.A., SAA, AFC Robert Bateman
Wildlife Paintings and Conservation
 

Born in Toronto, Canada, 1930; son of Joseph Wilber
& Anne (McLellan) Bateman
Children: Alan, Sarah, and John
Married Birgit Freybe, August 1975
Children: Christopher and Rob

Photo by Birgit Freybe Bateman



Lecturer and resource person in art, photography, nature & conservation

Education:
Forest Hill High School, Toronto, 1950
University of Toronto, B.A., 1954
Ontario College of Education, 1955

High school art/geography teacher:
Thornhill High School, Thornhill, Ontario: 1955-57
Nelson High School, Burlington, Ontario: 1958-63; 1965-69
Government College, Umuahia, Nigeria: 1963-65
Art Consultant, Halton Board of Education 1969-70
Lord Elgin High School, Burlington, Ontario: 1970-76

Resident of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada


 
Special Achievements:
  • Major Academic Honours
    Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, Colby College, 1989
    Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, Northeastern University, 1991
    Doctor of Law, Fine Arts, honoris causa, Brock University, 1982
    Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Laurentian University, 1987
    Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Royal Roads University, 2010
    Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, University of Guelph, 1984
    Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, University of Toronto, 2007
    Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, University of Victoria, 2003
    Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, Acadia University, 2014
    Doctor of Letters, Fine Arts, honoris causa, Lakehead University,1986
    Doctor of Letters, Fine Arts, honoris causa, McMaster University,1983
    Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Carleton University, 1982
    Doctor of Science, honoris causa, McGill University, 1995
     
  • Major Honours and Awards
    Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal, 1977
    Artist of the Year, American Artist magazine, 1980
    Master Artist, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI, 1982
    Officer of the Order of Canada, 1984
    Member of Honour Award, World Wildlife Fund, 1985, (presented by HRH The Prince Philip)
    Governor General Award for Conservation, Quebec City, Canada, 1987
    Lescarbot Award presented by Canadian Government, May 1992
    Society of Animal Artists Award of Excellence 1979, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1990, 2008; Lifetime Achievement Award, 2010
    Rachel Carson Award presented by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Washington D.C., 1996
    Golden Plate Award presented by the American Academy of Achievement, 1998
    U.S. National Audubon Society, one of 20th Century’s 100 Champions of Conservation, 1998
    Order of British Columbia, 2001
    Rungius Medal presented by the National Museum of Wildlife Art, 2001
    Queen’s Jubilee Medal, 2002
    Perkin’s Partner in Conservation Award presented by The Wild Canid Center, 2003
    Roland Michener Conservation Award presented by the Canadian Wildlife Federation, 2003
    Chevron Texaco Conservation Award, 2003
    President’s Medal, The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation of Canada, 2005
    Ideas for Life Award, Canadian Environment Awards, 2006
    Amnesty International, Human Rights Defender Award, 2007
    Simon Combes Award, Artists for Conservation Foundation, 2008
    Niagara Escarpment Lifetime Achievement Award, 2009
    The Black-Parker Award for Art Industry Leadership, Susan Kathleen Black Foundation, 2013
    Royal Canadian Geographical Society Gold Medal, 2013
    World Ecology Award, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2015

    Robert Bateman Elementary School, Ottawa, Ontario
    Robert Bateman Secondary School, Abbotsford, British Columbia
    Robert Bateman High School, Burlington, Ontario
     
  • Major Exhibitions
    Tryon Gallery, London, England: 1975 & 1979
    Beckett Gallery, Hamilton/Toronto, Ontario: 1978, 1987. 1991, 2002
    “Images of the Wild”, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa, 1981-82 (travelling exhibit of major Canadian museums)
    Le Conseil International de la Chasse et de la Conservation de Gibier, Monaco, 1982 (travelling exhibition of major European cities)
    Greenville County Museum of Art, South Carolina, 1985
    Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, 1987
    Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, 1986
    Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., 1987
    Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA 1988
    Colorado Springs Fine Arts Museum 1991
    Carnegie Museum of Natural History 1991
    Canadian Embassy, Tokyo, 1992 (travelling California Academy of Sciences April ’92, Los Angeles Museum of Natural History Nov ’92, Vancouver Museum May ’93, Victoria Art Gallery Sept ’93)
    Suntory Museum, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan “Canadian Wildlife Artists” Dec.’95-Feb.’96 (Five Canadian wildlife artists)
    Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, April-June ’97
    National Museum of Wildlife Art, May ’97- Nov.’97
    “Diversities”, Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, SA, Oct. - Nov., 2000
    Retrospective Tour: Wm. S. Fairfield Public Gallery, Sturgeon Bay, WI; Genesee County Museum, Mumford, NY; The Wildlife Experience, Denver, CO; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ; Bruce Museum of Arts & Sciences, Greenwich, CT; Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX, May 2002 - Nov. 2003
    Retrospective Tour: Wm. S. Fairfield Public Gallery, Sturgeon Bay, WI; Genesee County Museum, Mumford, NY; The Wildlife Experience, Denver, CO; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ; Bruce Museum of Arts & Sciences, Greenwich, CT; Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX,May 2002 - Nov. 2003
    “Portfolio”, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, August 2004
    “The Art of Bateman” with Alan Bateman & John Bateman, Masters Gallery, Calgary, AB, 2006
    “The Art of Robert Bateman” Retrospective Tour: McMichael Gallery of Canadian Art, Kleinburg, ON 2007; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE , 2007; The Wildlife Experience, Denver, CO, 2008; National Museum of Wildlife Art’ Jackson Hole, W,Y 2008; San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA, 2008; Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, AB 2009
    “Robert Bateman in Russia”: Russian State Museum, St. Petersburg; Ivanovo Regional State Museum; Tula Museum of Fine Art;Tsarytsyno Palace Art Museum, Moscow, Oct. 2009 – Aug. 2010

    The Robert Bateman Centre, Victoria, BC – permanent exhibition, opened May 24, 2013


     
Collections:
  • Permanent Collections
    Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
    Burlington Art Centre, Burlington, Ontario
    Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma
    Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin
    Denver Art Museum
    Hamilton Art Gallery, Ontario
    Genesee Country Museum, New York
    Glenbow Museum, Alberta
    National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson WY
    HRH The Prince Charles
    HRH The Prince Philip
    HRH The late Princess Grace of Monaco
    HRH Bernhard, Prince of the Netherlands

     
  • Special Commissions
    World Wildlife Fund, Endangered Species Silver Bowl, 1971
    Canada Post, Endangered Species Postage Stamp Series, 1976-1981
    Board of Trade of Metropolitan Toronto, “Window Into Ontario”, 1977
    Government of Canada, wedding gift to HRH The Prince Charles,
    “Northern Reflections - Loon Family”, 1981
    Royal Canadian Mint, Platinum Polar Bear Coin Series, 1990
    National Capital Commission, Canadiana Fund (Official Residences Permanent Collection), “Winter Pond - Mergansers”, 2000
     
Publications:
  • Books 
     - The Art of Robert Bateman, by Ramsay Derry, Madison Press Books, 1981 (French ed. 1982; German ed. 1984)
    Ten Top Wildlife Artists, by Patricia Van Gelder, 1982
    Wildlife Artists at Work by Patricia Van Gelder, Watson-Guptil, 1982
    Wildlife Painting - Techniques of Modern Masters, Susan Rayfield, Watson-Guptil, 1985
    The World of Robert Bateman, by Ramsay Derry, Madison Press Books, 1984
    Twentieth Century Wildlife Artists by Nicholas Hammond, 1986
    Robert Bateman: An Artist in Nature, by Rick Archbold, Madison Press Books, 1990
    African Wildlife Art by David Tomlinson, Clive Holloway Books, 1991
    Robert Bateman: Natural Worlds, text by Rick Archbold, Madison Press Books, 1996
    Safari, by Robert Bateman and Rick Archbold, Madison Press Books, 1998
    Thinking Like a Mountain, by Robert Bateman & Rick Archbold, Penguin Books, 2000
    Design & Composition Secrets of Professional Artists, by the editors of International Artist magazine, North Light Books, 2001
    Wildlife Art: 60 Contemporary Masters & Their Work, by Joan Muvskens Pursley, Portfolio Press, c2001
    The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes by Peter Matthiessen, paintings and drawings by Robert Bateman, Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, 2001
    Birds, by Robert Bateman & Kathryn Dean, Madison, 2002
    Backyard Birds by Robert Bateman with Ian Coutts, Madison, 2005
    Birds of Prey by Robert Bateman with Nancy Kovacs, Madison, 2007
    Polar Worlds by Robert Bateman with Nancy Kovacs, Madison, 2008
    Vanishing Habitats by Robert Bateman with Nancy Kovacs, Madison, 2009
    Bateman: New Works, Greystone Books, 2010
    Life Sketches: a Memoir, Simon & Schuster, 2015
     
  • Films 
     - “Robert Bateman”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1972
    “Images of the Wild: A Portrait of Robert Bateman”, National Film Board of Canada, 1978
    “The Nature Art of Robert Bateman”, Eco-Art Productions, 1981
    “Robert Bateman - A Celebration of Nature”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1983
    “Robert Bateman - Artist/Naturalist”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 1984
    “A Day in the Life of Robert Bateman”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1985
    “Robert Bateman” Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1994
    “Life and Times of Robert Bateman”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1997
    “Down to Earth”, Zephyr Films, 2001
     
Organization Membership:
  • Memberships & Directorships
    Advisory Board, Pollution Probe
    Advisory Committee Member, Gaylord A. Nelson Environmental Endowments
    Advisory Council, Ecotrust
    Board Member, British Society for Wildlife Artists
    Board Member, Jane Goodall Institute, Canada
    Council of Patrons, Earthroots
    Director, Charles Darwin Foundation of Canada
    Founding Patron, Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Trust
    Honorary Board Member Canadian Environmental Defense Fund
    Honorary Board Member Friends of Point Pelee Endowment Fund
    Honorary Chairman, The Bateman Foundation, Victoria
    Honorary Chairman, Harmony Foundation, Victoria
    Honorary Chairman, Return of the Peregrine Falcon Project
    Honorary Director, Ecojustice Canada
    Honorary Director, Kenya Wildlife Fund
    Honorary Director, Long Point Bird Observatory, Ontario
    Honorary Director, Niska Wildlife Foundation, Guelph
    Honorary Director, North American Native Plant Society
    Honorary Fellow, The Royal Canadian Geographical Society
    Honorary Life Member, Audubon Society
    Honorary Life Member, Burlington Cultural Centre, Ontario
    Honorary Life Member, Canadian Wildlife Federation
    Honorary Life Member, Federation of Ontario Naturalists
    Honorary Life Member, Nova Scotia Nature Trust
    Honorary Life Member, Sierra Club
    Honorary Member, Federation of Canadian Artists since April 1983
    Honorary Patron, The Land Conservancy of British Columbia
    Honorary Patron, Bruce Trail Conservancy
    Life Member, Federation of British Columbia Naturalists
    Member of Advisory Council, CODE
    Member Explorer’s Club
    Past Commissioner, Niagara Escarpment Commission, Georgetown, Ontario, 1973-85
    Past Director, Art Gallery of Ontario
    Past Director, Federation of Ontario Naturalists
    Past Director, Hamilton Naturalist Association, Ontario
    Patron, Brant Wildlife Festival
    Patron, Vancouver Avian Research Centre
    Patron, Wild Bird Trust of British Columbia
    Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
     

 

 
 
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Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
Canada V8K 2P2
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This site is part of the Artists for Conservation (AFC) Web site. (Wildlife Art - Nature Art - Conservation) Artists for Conservation is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to nature art, wildlife art and conservation. On this site you will find world-class nature art and wildlife art by today's leading nature artists & wildlife artists. The AFC site is the Web's premier location for nature art, wildlife artists All content appearing in pages featuring Robert Bateman is the sole responsibility of Robert Bateman. The opinions expressed on these artists' pages are those of Robert Bateman and do not necessarily reflect those of the Artists for Conservation Foundationi (AFC).