| “There is a strange tension in Bill, between this love of discipline and his love of the ludicrous. He seems always at odds with himself - sometimes ingrown and reticent and whining selfish, and then wide open, gentle and courteous, and with an extraordinary generous streak... not only in giving things away, but giving his time and compassion to people he knows can only disappoint him - it’s as if his generosity sometimes comes out of a despair; aware that there is so little generosity in the world, he proves its existence by giving... and expecting little or nothing in return; yet he insists upon having his presence, his style felt, and he is able, with a straight face, to agonize over having no money while standing dressed in a beautifully tailored brocade suit and shirt with lace cuffs...” (Barry Callaghan from the catalogue for Ronald: 25 Years traveling across Canada 1975/76) William Ronald was born in Stratford , Ontario in 1926. He graduated with honours from the Ontario College of Art in 1951 and went on to become a founding member of Painters Eleven, the pioneer movement of Modern Art in Canada . He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy and recipient of the Hallmark Art Award, New York (1952), the I.O.D.E Scholarship, Canada (1951), the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association Art Scholarship (1954), the National Award, Canadian Section of the International Guggenheim Awards, New York (1956), the Second Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (1957) and the Canada Council Senior Arts Award (1977). William Ronald exhibited widely in both Canada and the United States including solo exhibitions at Hart House, University of Toronto (1954), Greenwich Gallery, Toronto (1957), Kootz Gallery, New York (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963), Laing Gallery, Toronto (1962), Isaacs Gallery, Toronto (1963), Princeton University Museum, New Jersey (1963), David Mirvish Gallery, Toronto (1965), Dunkelman Gallery, Toronto (1970), Tom Thomson Memorial Gallery, Owen Sound (1971), The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa (1975), The Morris Gallery, Toronto (1975,1977, 1978, 1979, 1980), Musee d’Art Contemporain, Montreal (1975), Rodman Hall Arts Centre, St. Catherines (1975), Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, N.B. (1975), Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, P.E.I. (1975), Edmonton Art Gallery, Alberta (1975), Burnaby Art Gallery, B.C. (1976), Art Gallery of Windsor (1976), Gustafssen Gallery, Brampton (1976), Dominion Corinth Galleries, Ottawa (1978), Quan & King Gallery, Toronto (1981), Gallery Quan, Toronto (1982), Lynwood Art Centre, Simcoe (1983), Gallery Dresdnere, Toronto (1983), Robert Vanderleelie Gallery, Edmonton (1984), William Ronald: The Prime Ministers Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (1984), Moore Gallery, Hamilton (1984), Art Gallery of Windsor (1984), New Brunswick Museum, St. John (1985), Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (1985), Montreal Gallery of Contemporary Art (1985). The works of William Ronald can be found in numerous public, private and corporate collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Brooklyn Museum, New York, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Museum of Modern Art, New York, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Connecticut, Art Institute of Chicago, James A. Michener Foundation, Pennsylvania, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, David Rockefeller Collection, New York, Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection, New York, Pheonix Art Museum, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Wadsworth Atheneum, Connecticut, Whitney Museum of Art, New York, Gallery of Modern Art, Washington, Newark Museum, New Jersey, New Jersey State Museum, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Windsor Art Museum, Stamford Museum & Nature Centre, Connecticut, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Rodman Hall Arts Centre, St. Catherines, Burnaby Art Gallery, B.C., Corcoran Museum of Art, Syracuse, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Bagley Museum, Virginia, Hirshorn Museum, Washington, Philbrook Art Centre, Oklahoma, Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, Lynwood Art Centre, Simcoe Ontario, Edmonton Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Northumberland, Ontario.
|