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Alex Colville (1920–2013) forged a singular path in 20th-century art, remaining apart from formal trends while developing a meticulous technique of point-by-point application. His precisely constructed compositions depict ordinary life in charged juxtapositions of figures, animals, and objects, evoking a suspended, uneasy stillness. Trained at Mount Allison University and later a military artist, Colville’s work is held in private and corporate collections worldwide.Painter, draughtsman, engraver and muralist, Alex Colville always remained aloof from the formal trends that characterized the 20th century. Drawing his inspiration from the world around him, from the most repetitive gestures of everyday life, he placed his unsettling juxtapositions of figures, objects and animals in an ambiguous atmosphere of disquieting tranquillity, as though time were suspended. His compositions are rigorously constructed according to a precise geometry and executed with a technique that consists of minuscule dabs of paint applied meticulously dot by dot.
Born in Toronto, Colville moved as a boy to Amherst, Nova Scotia with his family. After his studies at Mount Allison University, he served in the army from 1942 to 1946, working as a military artist from 1944 to 1946. He then taught at university, but left in 1963 to devote himself completely to painting. In the 1950s, his approach became associated with that of certain American artists, such as Andrew Wyeth, who are considered regionalists. His paintings are characterized by a latent anxiety; an example is Child and Dog, in which the juxtaposition of a blond child and a large black dog with pronounced claws creates a feeling of unease. Nearly a third of Colville’s works involve animals, particularly domestic animals; Hound in Field is a perfect illustration of this affinity.