Robert
Bateman
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Artists
In the '70s and early '80s, Bateman's
work began to receive critical acclaim and to attract an enormous
following. His work is in many public and private collections and
several art museums. He was commissioned by the Governor-General of
Canada to create a painting as the wedding gift for HRH The Prince
Charles from the people of Canada. His work is also represented in
the collection of HRH The Prince Philip, the late Princess Grace of
Monaco and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. Bateman has had many
one-man museum shows throughout North America, including an
exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; most
of these shows have drawn record-breaking crowds. His honors, awards
and honorary doctorates are numerous; he was made Officer of the
Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian award. He was awarded
the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. He
has also been the subject of three films and several video
productions. Three books of his art, The Art of Robert Bateman, The
World of Robert Bateman, and Robert Bateman: An Artist in Nature,
have made publishing history. A fourth book of his art, Robert
Bateman: Natural Worlds, focuses on the importance of natural and
cultural heritage. Safari, an illustrated book for young readers,
contains firsthand accounts and interesting facts about African
wildlife. The book, Thinking Like a Mountain, details Bateman's
environmental philosophies and observations and includes pencil
sketches throughout.
It is in honor of his contribution to art
and conservation that both a public school and a secondary school in
Canada have been named after him. With a degree in geography from the
University of Toronto, Bateman taught high school for 20 years,
including two years in Nigeria. He traveled around the world in a
Land Rover in 1957/58, increasing his appreciation of cultural and
natural heritage. Since leaving teaching in 1976 to paint full time,
he has traveled widely with his wife, Birgit, to many remote natural
areas.
Bateman's art reflects his commitment to
ecology and preservation. Since the early '60s, he has been an active
member of naturalist clubs and other conservation organizations. This
involvement has increased in recent years and is now on a global
scale. He has become a spokesman for many environmental and
preservation issues and has used his artwork and limited edition
prints in fund-raising efforts which have provided millions of
dollars for these worthy causes. He says, "I can't conceive of
anything being more varied and rich and handsome than the planet
Earth. And its crowning beauty is the natural world. I want to soak
it up, to understand it as well as I can, and to absorb it. And then
I'd like to put it together and express it in my painting. This is
the way I want to dedicate my work."