Alex Colville
His meticulously unsettling paintings of everyday Canadian life hold a quiet, haunting power, capturing moments thick with unspoken tension.
1920–2013 (age 93)·Canadian artist·Birthday: August 24·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Alex Colville's art is an exercise in hyper-clarity that reveals profound unease. A war artist during WWII, he witnessed the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, an experience that imprinted a permanent awareness of order's thin veneer. Settling in his native Nova Scotia, he developed a painstaking, slow technique, building images with the precision of a surveyor. His subjects were deceptively ordinary: a man and a dog on a beach, a woman at a sink, a horse and train on a prairie track. Yet through his exacting composition, dramatic angles, and masterful control of light, he infused these scenes with a potent, looming stillness. The world in a Colville painting feels suspended, a breath held, suggesting narratives just beyond the frame—often of solitude, vigilance, or imminent threat. His iconic imagery became part of Canada's visual consciousness, used on currency and stamps, making the mysterious and disquieting feel utterly, unmistakably familiar.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Alex was born in 1920, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alex Was Born
The biggest hits of 1920
#1 Movie
Way Down East
Alex's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1920Born
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1925Started school
The Scopes Trial debates evolution in schools
Home: $4,366President: Calvin Coolidge"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie
1933Became a teenager
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1936Could drive
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1938Could vote
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1941Turned 21
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1950Turned 30
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1960Turned 40
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1970Turned 50
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1980Turned 60
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 70
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 80
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2013Died at 93
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Key Achievements
- Created iconic Canadian works such as 'Horse and Train,' 'To Prince Edward Island,' and 'Pacific.'
- Served as an official war artist for Canada during World War II, documenting the Normandy landings and the liberation of concentration camps.
- His painting 'Horse and Train' was used on the cover of the 1970 album 'Colville' by the band The Band.
- Was awarded the Order of Canada and had his work featured on Canadian postage stamps and the $100 banknote.
Did You Know?
He worked using a meticulous egg tempera and synthetic resin technique, often spending months on a single painting.
He designed the symbols for the 1967 Canadian Centennial and the Order of Canada.
Director Stanley Kubrick was influenced by Colville's compositions and used his painting 'To Prince Edward Island' as a visual reference for 'The Shining.'
He was a skilled athlete in his youth and remained physically active, often cycling long distances.
“I paint things I care about, that are around me, that I know. But I try to make them seem strange.”
