William Ronald

William Ronald was an acclaimed Canadian abstract painter, journalist, and founder of the Painters Eleven. He lived in various towns across Ontario and graduated from the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) in Toronto in 1951. He also studied American abstract expressionism in New York under Hans Hofmann. Ronald is considered to be a pioneer of modern art in Canada. His first solo exhibition “Paintings and Poems” in 1954, at University of Toronto’s Hart House was the first major commercial display of abstract art in Toronto. He eventually became connected to Manhattan art dealer Sam Kootz when he rose in prestige. Ronald has represented Canadian art across the world, and was rewarded with the International Guggenheim Award: Canadian Section in 1956 and the Canada Councils senior arts award in 1977.  

 

William Ronald was known for his passionate and cheerful creation of abstract expressionist painting. He was radical in his method and created shocking, often offensive modern artwork– as shown through his series of sixteen abstract portraits of Canadian leadership titled The Prime Ministers. He often painted in public and created his art as showgirls danced around him. His paintings can be described as explosive, vivid, and startling. His work has been displayed at Christopher Cutts gallery since 1996. 

William Ronald (b. 1926 – 1998, Canada)

Education
1951 Ontario College of Art, Toronto, CA

Select Solo Exhibitions
2023 After Twenty Five Years, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2008 Master Painter, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2004 …a survey of paintings, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2000 Fin de Siecle, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
1999 Vintage Works on Paper, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
1998 William Ronald, Waddington & Gorce, Montreal, CA
1998 Works on Paper, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
1996 Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
1996 Bravo, City TV, Toronto, CA
1991 Gallery 291, Toronto, CA
1990 Joliette Museum, Joliette, CA
1989 La Galerie d’Arts Contemporains, Montréal, CA
1986 Galerie La Belle Epoque, Montreal, CA
1985 William Ronald – The Prime Ministers, Joliette Museum, Joliette,Quebec; Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia; The New Brunswick Museum, St. John, CA
1984 William Ronald – The Prime Ministers, The Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta; Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, CA
1984 Robert Vanderleelie Gallery, Edmonton, CA
1983 Gallery Dresdener, Toronto, CA
1983 Lynnwood Art Centre, Simcoe, CA
1982 Gallery Quan, Toronto, CA
1981 Quan & King Gallery, Toronto, CA
1980 Morris Gallery, Toronto, CA
1979 Morris Gallery, Toronto, CA
1978 Dominion Corinth Galleries, Ottawa, CA
1978 Morris Gallery, Toronto, CA
1977 Morris Gallery, Toronto, CA
1976 Brampton Public Library & Art Gallery, Bramalea, CA
1976 Gustafsson Gallery, Brampton, CA
1976 The Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, CA
1976 Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, CA
1975 The Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, CA
1975 Confederation Centre Art Gallery & Museum, Charlottetown, CA
1975 Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, CA
1975 Rodman Hall Arts Centre, St. Catharines, CA
1975 Musée d’art contemporain, Montreal, CA
1975 Morris Gallery, Toronto, CA
1975 Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, CA
1972 Brandon University, Brandon, CA
1971 Tom Thompson Memorial Gallery, Owen Sound, CA
1970 Dunkelman Gallery, Toronto, CA
1965 David Mirvish Gallery, Toronto, CA
1963 Kootz Gallery, New York, US
1963 Douglass College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, CA
1963 Princeton University Museum, Princeton, US
1963 Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1963 Kootz Gallery, New York, US
1962 Kootz Gallery, New York, US
1960 Laing Galleries, Toronto, CA
1960 Kootz Gallery, New York, US
1959 Kootz Gallery, New York, US
1958 Kootz Gallery, New York, US
1957 Kootz Gallery, New York, US
1957 Greenwich Gallery, Toronto, CA
1954 Hart House, University of Toronto, Toronto, CA

Select Group Exhibitions
2024 Winter Group Show, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2023 Director’s Choice, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2015 Director’s Choice I, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2011 Painting: Toronto’s Modern Masters, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2011 Christmas Group Show, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2008 Christmas Party, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2006 Abstract Painting, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2002 Vintage Abstraction, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA

Art Fairs
2015 Art Toronto, Toronto, CA
2012 Armory Modern, Toronto, CA
2012 Art Toronto, Toronto, CA
2012 Art Miami, Miami, US
2011 Art Toronto, Toronto, CA
2010 Armory Show, Toronto, CA
2009 Art Toronto, Toronto, CA

Awards & Grants
1977 Canada Council Senior Arts Award
1957 Second Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
1956 National Award, Canadian Section, International Guggenheim Awards
1952 Hallmark Card Award, New York, New York

Scholarships
1954 Canadian Amateur Hockey Assoc. Art Scholarship
1951 I.O.D.E. Scholarship, Canada

Bibliography
2000 Dictionary of Contemporary American Artists, St. Martins Press, New York, New York
2000 Fin de Siecle, Christopher Cutts Gallery. Toronto 2000
1983 Contemporary Canadian Art David Burnett & Marilyn Schiff, Hurtig Publishing, Toronto
1977 Artscanada Magazine, March/April 1977, Issue 212/213
1973 A Concise History of Canadian Painting, Denis Reid, Oxford University Press, Toronto
1966 Canadian Art, Issue No. 101, Vo. 2, April 1966
1964 Canadian Art, Issue No. 93, September/October 1964
1973 Arts Canada, Vo. XXX, No. 1, February/March 1973
1972 Contemporary Canadian Painting, William Withrow, McClelland & Stewart Ltd., Toronto, 1972
1967 Landmarks in Canadian Art 1979, Peter Mellen, McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, Ontario
1967 300 Years of Canadian Art, R.H. Hubbard & J.R. Ostiguy, Ottawa, Canada
1967 The Canadians 1867-1967, J.M.S. Carless & R. Craig Brown, The Macmillan Co. of Canada Ltd., Toronto, 1967
1965-1953 Toronto Painting 1953-65, Barrie Hale, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Whitney Review 1964 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York
1962 Art International, December 1962

Collections
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Baltimore Museum of Fine Art, Baltimore, Maryland
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York
Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, British Columbia
Canada Council Collection, Ottawa, Ontario
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio
Confederation Centre Art Gallery & Museum, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Corcoran Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York
David Rockefeller Collection, New York, New York
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
Hamilton Public Library, Hamilton, Ontario
Hirshorn Museum, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
Joliette Museum, Joliette, Quebec
Lynnwood Art Centre, Simcoe, Ontario
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Quebec
Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection, New York, New York
Pasadena Museum, Pasadena, California
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
Princeton University Museum, Princeton, New Jersey
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island
Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario
Rodman Hall Arts Centre, St. Catharines, Ontario
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York
Univesity of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
University of Oklahoma Art Museum, Norman, Oklahoma
University of Pennsylvania Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Conneticut
Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis, Minneapolis
Whitney Museum of Art, New York, New York
Wellington County Museum and Archives, Fergus, Ontario
Williams College, Williamston, Massachusetts
Windsor Art Museum, Windsor, Ontario
York University, Toronto, Ontario

Other Activities
Founder:
Painters Eleven

Host:
CBC TV, “The Umbrella”, 1966-67
CBC FM Radio, “Theme & Variations”, 1968
CBC Radio, “As It Happens”, 1969-72
CITY TV, “Free For All”, 1972-74

 

Honours
1975 Royal Canadian Academy

Featured Artwork

William Ronald

Akira Kawakida

1977
48
 x 48
 in
 (122
 x 122
 cm)

William Ronald

Allan Fleming

1978
24
 x 24
 in
 (61
 x 61
 cm)

William Ronald

Altar

1970
78
 x 60
 in
 (198.1
 x 152.4
 cm)

William Ronald

Apostle

1961
77
 x 51
 in
 (195.6
 x 129.5
 cm)

William Ronald

Laughing Clown

1988
42.5
 x 48.5
 in
 (108
 x 123
 cm)

William Ronald

Maya’s Meteor

1997
45
 x 60
 in
 (114.5
 x 152.5
 cm)

William Ronald

Night

c. 1955
16
 x 17.5
 in
 (41
 x 44.5
 cm)

William Ronald

Red Bird

1971
20
 x 20
 in
 (51
 x 51
 cm)

William Ronald

Tom Tom

1996
84
 x 72
 in
 (213.5
 x 183
 cm)

William Ronald

Untitled

1952
17
 x 24
 in
 (43
 x 61
 cm)

William Ronald

Untitled

1954
20
 x 26
 in
 (50.8
 x 66
 cm)

William Ronald

Untitled

1960
18
 x 24
 in
 (45.5
 x 61
 cm)

Past Exhibitions

Winter Group Show – 2024
2024 Dec 07 - 21
William Ronald – After Twenty Five Years
2023 Mar 04 - 29
Director’s Choice 2023
2023 Jan 21 - Feb 25
DIRECTOR’S CHOICE I
2015 Jan 31 - Feb 25
Winter Group Show 2011 / 2012
2011 Dec 21 - Jan 11
Toronto’s Modern Masters
2011 Oct 15 - Nov 12
Christmas Party 2008
2008 Dec 18 - Jan 31
Master Painter 1926 – 1998
2008 Feb 09 - Mar 26
Abstract Painting
2006 Mar 04 - Apr 01
William Ronald…a survey of paintings from the past fifty years
2004 Sept 09 - Oct 06

Publications

William Ronald: fin de siecle

William Ronald: His Art, His Life

Painters Eleven

The Canadian Painters Eleven (1953-1960)

8 Ontario Painters

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