Family, fellow artists and public figures are remembering beloved Saskatchewan artist David Thauberger, who died Thursday evening in Regina. He was 78.
Born in 1948 in the small town of Holdfast, about 100 kilometres northwest of Regina, Thauberger dedicated his life to art, inspiring multiple generations, and lining the walls of galleries and public buildings across the country with his work.
Former colleagues say the renowned painter and sculptor helped shape the way the Canadian art world saw Saskatchewan.
“He was really interested in the province, you know, kind of becoming this growing place,” said Belinda Harrow, a former colleague of Thauberger’s and senior consultant for the Saskatchewan Arts Permanent Collection (SK Arts).
“A lot of the buildings [he depicted] are modernist buildings or brutalist buildings. Buildings that kind of reflect the culture of the province as the cities grew and as those Prairies grew.”
David Thauberger is being remembered as a renowned painter and sculptor who helped shape the way the Canadian art world saw Saskatchewan. He died peacefully in Regina on Thursday evening after a battle with cancer.
Don Thauberger, the late artist’s brother, said that when they were growing up, David could not wait to get out of Holdfast and chase opportunities outside of Saskatchewan.
David studied ceramics at the University of Saskatchewan’s Regina campus, earning a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1971. He then headed south of the border, earning a master of arts in 1972 from California State University and a master of fine arts from the University of Montana in 1973.
After trying his hand at teaching back in Canada, David was drawn back to his home province where is pursued making a living off his art, Don said.
He said his brother’s love of art and culture inspired him greatly.
“He’s the guy that got me first crazy for art. I mean, the first 200 or 300 bucks I had spare, I went and bought one of his prints.”
Harrow said Thauberger had a long relationship with the Saskatchewan Arts Permanent Collection, even working there at one point. Today SK Arts has 45 of his pieces in its collection.
“There’s a lot of work that reflects agriculture, his rural upbringing, growing up in a small town in Holdfast, but also the cultural icons of the province like [grain elevators] and false-fronted buildings,” Harrow said.
Harrow said 25 pieces are currently out of the vault being enjoyed by Saskatchewan people through SK Arts’s loan and rental programs. Some of his painting can be sound at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building and Regina’s CBC headquarters.
“I think he reflected the changing development of our province over time. And he said that he wanted to make art that reflected where he lived, but also like what we love,” Harrow said.
She said Thauberger was known for his use of vibrant colours, and took inspiration from the pop art movement of the 1960s and ’70s.
Harrow said he was a wealth of knowledge and a constant student of art, immersing himself in history and culture.
“He had this amazing memory. So he would remember and tell stories about certain artists. I would ask about a certain artist and he would always have this fantastic story to go along with those artists,” she said.
“He knew those people personally and he was encouraging, and he would give feedback to artists about their work. People cared what he thought because he was such a important, substantial artist in the province.”
Thauberger’s legacy
Thauberger was inducted as a member of the Order of Canada in 2008, was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2012 and received the Lieutenant Governor’s Saskatchewan Artist Award in 2009.
He inspired his niece Althea Thauberger on her road to becoming an artist. Now a University of British Columbia professor, she said his work was special to her, particularly his paintings of the farmhouse his father and grandfather built in Holdfast.
“That house is one I had a relationship to as a child. It hadn’t been lived in for some time when I was a child, but we would always go back there, explore the farmyard, explore the house and the farm,” Althea said.
“I felt a strong connection to those works simply because they’re part of the family.”
Thauberger leaves behind a large body of work that can be found at Slate Fine Art Gallery and Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina, the Remai Modern in Saskatoon, the Canada Council Art Bank and multiple other galleries across Canada.
On Monday, Premier Scott Moe said in a Facebook post that Saskatchewan has lost a “true original,” someone whose “remarkable talent helped capture the heart and spirit” of the province.
Thauberger’s niece said he’ll be remembered for more than his art and his love for his family and province.
“He’s also known for his generosity with younger artists, myself included,” Althea said.
“He was very influential and very inspiring to many generations of artists that came after him.”
