Bateman Bio


Robert McLellan Bateman
O.C., O.B.C., R.C.A., D.F.A., D. Litt., D. Sc., LL.D., B.A.,



Personal
Born in Toronto, Canada, 1930; son of Joseph Wilber & Annie Maria (McLellan) Bateman
Marriage to Suzanne Bowerman, June 1961
Children: Alan, Sarah & John
Married Birgit Freybe, August 1975
Children: Christopher & Rob



High School Art/Geography teacher 20 years
Thornhill High School, Thornhill, Ontario: 1955-57
Nelson High School, Burlington, Ontario: 1958-63; 1965-69
Government College, Umuahia, Nigeria: 1963-65
Lord Elgin High School, Burlington, Ontario: 1970-76
Lifelong lecturer & resource person in art, photography, nature & conservation
Resident of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada





Education
Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, Toronto, 1950
University of Toronto, B.A., Honours Geography, 1954
Ontario College of Education, 1955




Major One-man Exhibitions
Tryon Gallery, London, England: 1975 & 1979
"Images of the Wild", National Museum of Natural Sciences,Ottawa, 1981-82 (travelling exhibit of major Canadian museums)
Le Conseil International de la Chasse et de la Conservation de Gibier, Monaco, 1982 (travelling exhibition of major European cities)
Greenville County Museum of Art, South Carolina, 1985
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, 1987
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, 1986 & 1997
Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., 1987
Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA 1988
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Museum 1991
Carnegie Museum of Natural History 1991
Canadian Embassy, Tokyo, 1992
California Academy of Sciences April '92,
Los Angeles Museum of Natural History Nov '92,
Vancouver Museum May '93,
Victoria Art Gallery Sept '93)
National Museum of Wildlife Art, May '97- Nov.'97
Art Gallery of Algoma, September '97- November '97
Burlington Art Centre, June-July 2000
"Diversities", Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, SA, Oct. - Nov., 2000
Retrospective Tour: Wm. S. Fairfield Public Gallery, Sturgeon Bay, WI; Genesee
County Museum, Mumford, NY;
The Wildlife Experience, Denver, CO;
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ;
Bruce Museum of Arts & Sciences, Greenwich, CT;
Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX, May 2002 - Nov. 2003
“Robert Bateman: A Portfolio”, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, August 2004
“The Art of Bateman” with Alan Bateman & John Bateman, Masters Gallery, Calgary, AB, 2006
“The Art of Robert Bateman” Retrospective Tour:
McMichael Gallery of Canadian Art, Kleinburg, ON 2007;
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE , 2007;
Wildlife Experience, Denver, CO, 2008;
National Museum of Wildlife Art’ Jackson Hole, W,Y 2008;
San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA, 2008;
Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, AB 2009
“Robert Bateman in Russia”: Russian State Museum, St. Petersburg;
Ivanovo Regional State Museum;
Tula Museum of Fine Art;
Tsarytsyno Palace Art Museum, Moscow, Oct. 2009 – Aug. 2010



Public Art Museum Collections
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
Burlington Art Centre, Burlington, Ontario
Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin
Denver Art Museum
Hamilton Art Gallery, Ontario
Genesee Country Museum, New York
Glenbow Museum, Alberta
National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson WY




Plus numerous private collections including:
HRH The Prince Charles
HRH The Prince Philip
HRH The late Princess Grace of Monaco
HRH Bernhard, Prince of the Netherlands




Commissions
World Wildlife Fund, Endangered Species Silver Bowl, 1971
Canada Post, Endangered Species Postage Stamp Series, 1976-1981
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Toronto, "Window Into Ontario", 1977
Government of Canada, wedding gift to HRH The Prince Charles,
"Northern Reflections - Loon Family", 1981
Royal Canadian Mint, Platinum Polar Bear Coin Series, 1990
National Capital Commission, Canadiana Fund (Official Residences Permanent Collection),
"Winter Pond - Mergansers", 2000



Major Academic Honours
Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, Colby College, 1989
Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, Northeastern University, 1991
Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, Brock University, 1982
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Laurentian University, 1987
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Royal Roads University, 2010
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, University of Guelph, 1984
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, University of Victoria, 2003
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, University of Toronto, 2007
Doctor of Letters, Fine Arts, honoris causa, Lakehead University,1986
Doctor of Letters, Fine Arts, honoris causa, McMaster University,1983
Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Carleton University, 1982
Doctor of Science, honoris causa, McGill University, 1995



Major Honours and Awards
Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal, 1977
Artist of the Year, American Artist magazine, 1980
Excellence Award in Arts for Contribution to Artistic Community,
Hamilton-Wentworth, Ontario, 1980
Master Artist, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum,
Wausau, Wisconsin, 1982
Officer of the Order of Canada, 1984
Member of Honour Award, World Wildlife Fund, 1985, (presented by HRH The Prince Philip)
Governor General Award for Conservation, Quebec City, Canada, 1987
Lescarbot Award presented by Canadian Government, May 1992
Society of Animal Artists Award of Excellence 1979, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1990, 2008
Rachel Carson Award presented by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Washington D.C., 1996
Golden Plate Award presented by the American Academy of Achievement, 1998
U.S. National Audubon Society, one of 20th Century's 100 Champions of Conservation, 1998
Order of British Columbia, 2001
Rungius Medal presented by the National Museum of Wildlife Art, 2001
Queen’s Jubilee Medal, 2002
Perkin’s Partner in Conservation Award presented by The Wild Canid Center, 2003
Roland Michener Conservation Award presented by the Canadian Wildlife Federation, 2003
Chevron Texaco Conservation Award, 2003
President’s Medal, The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation of Canada, 2005
Ideas for Life Award, Canadian Environment Awards, 2006
Amnesty International, Human Rights Defender Award, 2007
Simon Combes Award, Artists for Conservation Foundation, 2008
Niagara Escarpment Lifetime Achievement Award, 2009




School Namings
Robert Bateman Elementary School, Ottawa, Ontario
Robert Bateman Secondary School, Abbotsford, British Columbia
Robert Bateman High School, Burlington, Ontario




Books
The Art of Robert Bateman, biography by Ramsay Derry, Madison Press Books, 1981 (French ed. 1982; German ed. 1984)
Ten Top Wildlife Artists, by Patricia Van Gelder, 1982
Wildlife Artists at Work by Patricia Van Gelder, Watson-Guptil, 1982
Wildlife Painting - Techniques of Modern Masters, Susan Rayfield,
Watson-Guptil, 1985
The World of Robert Bateman, biography by Ramsay Derry,
Madison Press Books, 1984
Twentieth Century Wildlife Artists by Nicholas Hammond, 1986
From the Wild by Christopher Hume, 1986
Painting Birds by Susan Rayfield, Watson-Guptil, 1988
Robert Bateman by Marjorie E. White, Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1989
Robert Bateman: An Artist in Nature, biography by Rick Archbold,
Madison Press Books, 1990
African Wildlife Art by David Tomlinson, Clive Holloway Books, 1991
Robert Bateman: Natural Worlds, text by Rick Archbold,
Madison Press Books, 1996
Safari, by Robert Bateman and Rick Archbold, Madison Press Books, 1998
Thinking Like a Mountain, by Robert Bateman & Rick Archbold, Penguin Books, 2000
Design & Composition Secrets of Professional Artists, by the editors of International Artist magazine, North Light Books, 2001
Wildlife Art: 60 Contemporary Masters & Their Work, by Joan Muvskens Pursley, Portfolio Press, c2001
The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes by Peter Matthiessen, Paintings
and Drawings by Robert Bateman, Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, 2001
Birds, by Robert Bateman & Kathryn Dean, Madison, 2002
Backyard Birds by Robert Bateman with Ian Coutts, Madison, 2005
Birds of Prey by Robert Bateman with Nancy Kovacs, Madison, 2007
Polar Worlds by Robert Bateman with Nancy Kovacs, Madison, 2008
Vanishing Habitats by Robert Bateman with Nancy Kovacs, Madison, 2010
Bateman: New Works, Greystone Books, 2010


Films
"Robert Bateman", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1972
"Images of the Wild: A Portrait of Robert Bateman", National Film Board of Canada, 1978
"The Nature Art of Robert Bateman", Eco-Art Productions, 1981
"Robert Bateman - A Celebration of Nature", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1983
"Robert Bateman - Artist/Naturalist", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 1984
"A Day in the Life of Robert Bateman", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,1985
"Robert Bateman" Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1994
"Life and Times of Robert Bateman", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1997
"The Art of Robert Bateman", Cable Public Affairs Channel, 1999
"Down to Earth", Zephyr Films, 2001




Major Memberships and Affiliations
Advisory Board, Pollution Probe
Advisory Committee Member, Gaylord A. Nelson Environmental Endowments
Advisory Council, Ecotrust
Board Member, British Society for Wildlife Artists
Board Member, Jane Goodall Institute, Canada
Council of Patrons, Earthroots
Director, Charles Darwin Foundation of Canada
Founding Patron, Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Trust
Honorary Board Member Canadian Environmental Defense Fund
Honorary Board Member Friends of Point Pelee Endowment Fund
Honorary Chairman, Harmony Foundation, Victoria
Honorary Chairman, Return of the Peregrine Falcon Project
Honorary Director, Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival
Honorary Director, Kenya Wildlife Fund
Honorary Director, Long Point Bird Observatory, Ontario
Honorary Director, Niska Wildlife Foundation, Guelph
Honorary Director, North American Native Plant Society
Honorary Director, Ecojustice Canada [was Sierra Legal Defense Fund]
Honorary Life Member, Audubon Society
Honorary Life Member, Burlington Cultural Centre, Ontario
Honorary Life Member, Canadian Wildlife Federation
Honorary Life Member, Federation of Ontario Naturalists
Honorary Life Member, Nova Scotia Nature Trust
Honorary Life Member, Sierra Club
Honorary Member, Elsa Wild Animal Appeal, Toronto, Ontario
Honorary Member, Federation of Canadian Artists since April 1983
Honorary Member, Conservation Council of Ontario
Honorary Patron, The Land Conservancy of British Columbia
Life Member, Federation of British Columbia Naturalists
Member of Advisory Council, CODE
Member Explorer’s Club
Past Commissioner, Niagara Escarpment Commission, Georgetown, Ontario: 1973-85
Past Director, Art Gallery of Ontario
Past Director, Federation of Ontario Naturalists
Past Director, Hamilton Naturalist Association, Ontario
Patron, Wild Bird Trust of British Columbia
Patron, Brant Wildlife Festival
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts