Robert Bateman

Born in Toronto, Robert Bateman has been a keen artist and naturalist from his early days. He has always painted wildlife and nature, beginning with a representational style, moving through impressionism and cubism to abstract expressionism.

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In his early 30s he moved back to realism as a more suitable way to express the particularity of the planet. It is this style that has made him one of the foremost artists depicting the world of nature.

In the '70s and early 80s, Bateman's work began to receive critical acclaim and to attract an enormous following. His work is in many public and private collections, and several art museums. Bateman has had many one-man museum shows throughout North America, including an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; most of these shows have drawn record-breaking crowds.

His honors, awards and honorary doctorates are numerous; he was made Officer of the Order of Canada, the countries highest civilian award. He has also been the subject of three films and several video productions. Two books of His art, The Art of Robert Bateman and The World of Robert Bateman, have made publishing history, having sold more than half a million copies. A third book of his art, Robert Bateman: An Artist in Nature, focuses on his work both as a painter and a conservationist. It is in honor of his contribution to art and conservation that a public school and a secondary school in Canada have been named after him.

With a degree in geography from the University of Toronto, Bateman taught high school for 20 years, including two years in Nigeria. He traveled around the world in a Land Rover in 1957/58, increasing his appreciation of cultural and natural heritage. Since leaving teaching in 1976 to paint full time, he has traveled widely with his wife, Birgit, to many remote natural areas.