DAVID BLACKWOOD (1941-2022)

David Blackwood was one of Canada's best-known printmakers, celebrated for his evocative etchings that captured the history, traditions and resilience of Newfoundland and Labrador's seaside communities. Raised in Wesleyville, Newfoundland on the shores of Bonavista Bay, his experiences growing up in a seafaring family profoundly shaped his artistic vision.

After graduating from the Ontario College of Art (OCA, now OCAD University), Blackwood built a distinguished career as an artist and educator. His legendary print series, The Lost Party, inspired by a 1914 Newfoundland sealing disaster, established him as a master visual storyteller. The Lost Party remains one of the largest thematically linked print series in Canadian art history. Over the course of his career, he expanded his practice beyond etching to include watercolour and oil tempera while continuing to explore themes of the sea, memory, legend and community.¹

Blackwood's work has been exhibited widely in Canada and internationally and is held in major public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Australia and the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.2

His legacy endures through a body of work that preserves and celebrates the life, stories, spirit and cultural heritage of Newfoundland, Labrador and Atlantic Canada.

Learn more about David Blackwood

^{1David Blackwood, Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador}

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Image credit: David Blackwood. January Visit Home, 1975. Etching and aquatint on wove paper, Image: 50.5 x 80.7 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of David and Anita Blackwood, 2008. © Estate of David Blackwood. 2008/277