Robert Stewart Hyndman

Robert Stewart Hyndman, (1915-) is a distinguished Canadian portrait and landscape artist based in the National Capital Region. His career has spanned more than 70 years. He was an Official Canadian War artist during the Second World War.

Early life

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in July 1918. Robert attended Shawnigan Lake School on Vancouver Island from 1928 to 1931. Robert Hyndman moved with his family to Ottawa, Ontario in 1933. He received his early training at the Central Technical School in Toronto with Carl Schaefer and Charles Goldhammer. After graduating in 1937, Hyndman followed the lead of other young North American artists and moved to London, England to continue his studies at the Central School for Arts and Crafts (now the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design).

War Service

With war looming, Hyndman returned to Canada in 1939 and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in June, 1940. He served as a flight instructor at Uplands Airport in Ottawa from 1941–1943. From 1943 until 1944, Hyndman was stationed at Biggin Hill, England and flew Spitfires on bombing runs over the English Channel as part of RCAF 411 Squadron, 126 Wing.

Official War Artist

Hyndman’s drawings of his experiences during his war service caught the attention of government officials. Following his tour retirement (Hyndman flew 155 missions over France and the Netherlands) in September 1944, he was appointed an Official War Artist. Hyndman created a total of 68 paintings during his appointment. By war's end, Hyndman had painted most of the Canadian military’s senior commanders and many of the fighter aces of the RCAF.

While portraits formed the bulk of his production, he also captured his experiences as a pilot – most notably his works “Dive Bombing V-1 sites, France”(1) and “Above Falaise”(2). As with all war art, his war paintings remain the property of the Government of Canada.(3) Some of his works can be seen as part of the Beaverbrook War Art Collection’s touring Canvas of War exhibit, as well as on permanent display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Post-war Career

Following WWII, Hyndman resettled in Ottawa where he embarked upon a successful career as a painter of portraits and murals. He also passed on his love of painting to others as a teacher. He taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts for eight summers (1964-1972), at Elmwood School (Ottawa) (1966-71) and at the Ottawa School of Art (1971-2007).

Recognition

In 2000, he received the Art & Heritage Award from the City of Ottawa, and in 2001,on the 100th Anniversary of the election of former Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, he presented his portrait of Prime Minister Laurier to then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. In 2003, he received the Victor Tolgesy Award from the City of Ottawa.

External links

* [http://www.artottawa.ca/biotemp/hyndman.html Ottawa School of Art Biography]
* [http://www.artottawa.ca/joomla/images/stories/roberthyndmancatelogue.pdf Ottawa School of Art Retrospective]
* [http://www.legionmagazine.ca/features/warart/02-03.asp Canadian Legion]
* [http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/nothing-something.asp Wayne Ralph – Author of Aces, Warriors & Wingmen : Firsthand Accounts of Canada’s Fighter Pilots in the Second World War]
* [http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/canvas/2/cwe668e.html Canadian War Museum]
* [http://arts-ottawa.on.ca/aboutus/annual-report-2004-en.phpttawa City of Ottawa Arts Awards]
* [http://www.rcaf.com/squadrons/400series/411squadron.php RCAF 411 Squadron]

Notes

*1. [http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/canvas/2/images/11532.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/canvas/2/cwe668e.html&h=305&w=400&sz=52&hl=en&start=3&sig2=jelecNr2pxGWzVjIH8z37A&um=1&tbnid=v-yZqge44yTB2M:&tbnh=95&tbnw=124&ei=lIOVRsM-kbyAAumB9VM&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drobert%2Bhyndman%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26rls%3DHPIB,HPIB:2005-15,HPIB:en%26sa%3DN Dive Bombing V-1 Sites, France]
*2. [http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/images/2005/032205/hyndman-above-falaise.jpgAbove Falaise]
*3. For more information, contact Reproduction Service, Canadian War Museum, 330 Sussex Dr., Ottawa, ON K1A 0M8; fax [phone]; e-mail [e-mail]