After travelling the world for nearly four years, six paintings commemorating the First World War by renowned Canadian artist Charles Pachter will call Guelph home.
“I’m really thrilled that the work ended up in Guelph because that’s John McCrae’s home,” said Pachter about the collection, Lest We Forget that is now displayed in the Art Gallery of Guelph and can be viewed in the upcoming exhibition from Oct. 27 to Jan. 10.
“I have to say the space is magnificent and it really complements the work which are huge.”
Just installed at the Art Gallery of Guelph in time for Remembrance Day - my series of paintings on the First World War, now in the AGG’s permanent collection. pic.twitter.com/ngJKQOfp0R
— Charles Pachter (@CharlesPachter) October 21, 2020
Lest We Forget —a collection of 16 paintings in total — was first unveiled in Queens Park in 2014 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War. Pachter created the work in response to a request from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario to create a series on the “war to end all wars” and what it meant to Canadians.
Out of the 16 paintings, six came to Guelph, four were purchased by a collector in Bangladesh, and the remaining six went to museums across Canada with a few retained by Pachter in his studio.
The collection showcases scenes and objects symbolizing the First World War like the poppy, the exhausted soldiers, the trenches, the warships, the nurses who tended to soldiers and a portrait of John McCrae.
"We are pleased to be able to share these paintings with the community. Gifted to the gallery by the artist quite recently, the installation serves as a memorial exhibition, one that asks us to consider this history and how we continue to contribute to preserving this memory,” said Shauna McCabe, executive director of the AGG.
Pachter said as he's turning 78-years-old in December, it’s becoming increasingly important for him to think about placing his works in good public institutions across the country.
“When I first saw the space, I knew it was the right marriage between the work and space and I know that over the years, they’ll be able to take them down and show them on Remembrance Day. It's a terrific statement because of John McCrae and In Flanders Fields,” said Pachter.
“I thought and thought about it and I approached Guelph and they were terrific about it. They said they would be thrilled to get them and there we are.”
Pachter is known to many for painting the controversial Queen on Moose painting in 1972.
“It caused a scandal but it became my most famous picture,” laughed Pachter.
He recalled the time he met Queen Elizabeth in London, England, three years ago.
“I said ‘Your Majesty, this is such an honour. For 45 years, I painted you as the queen of Canada seated on a moose. It became my most famous picture. Thanks to you, I made a living all these years,’” said Pachter.
“And she giggled and said ‘how amusing!’” he remembered. “She wasn’t offended. She thought it was funny.”
Pachter said he’s currently in the midst of donating a variety of his works to various institutions. Apart from Guelph, he recently donated some artwork to museums in Peterborough, Edmonton and Saskatoon. His work has been displayed at the Art Gallery of Ontario,the Royal Ontario Museum, and the McMichael Gallery.
“I’m hoping to get to Guelph at some point to see them hanging,” said Pachter.
“In years to come, long after I’m gone, if the national gallery decides to give a retrospective of my work, they’ll have to borrow all these pieces from various galleries across Canada. Good luck to them.”
