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Maxwell Bates was born in Calgary in 1906. He initially trained as an architect at his father’s firm. Though predominantly self-taught in painting, Bates did study at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (now Alberta College of Art and Design) in Calgary from 1926-1927, under artist Lars Haukaness. Inspired by the writings of British art critics Clive Bell and Roger Fry, he travelled to London in 1931 to further immerse himself in painting and architecture. There, he became a member of the Twenties Group (1932-1939), a conglomerate of prominent Expressionists and Surrealists. During World War II, Bates served in the British Army. He was taken prisoner at Dunkirk in France and spent five years in a German Prisoner of War camp (1940-1945). During this time, Bates compiled his Prisoner of War Notebook, a philosophical treatise focusing on the role and function of art. Significantly, this document survived Nazi Kontrol raids to become an important part of Canadian heritage. Following the war, he returned to Calgary as both artist and architect. He worked at his father’s firm until 1950, at which point he moved with his first wife, May Watson, to New York City. There, he attended the Brooklyn Museum Art School, under the tutelage of Max Beckmann and Abraham Rattner (1949-1950). Tragically, May Watson died within three years of their meeting. Having returned to Calgary, Bates, as an architect (MRAIC, M. Inst. R. A.) began designs on St. Mary’s Cathedral in 1954, in partnership with another architect. That same year, he married Charlotte Kinzle. Following a severe stroke, Bates retired with his wife to Victoria, British Columbia in 1962. Here, the couple lived out their remaining years. Though almost unable to walk due to partial paralysis, he was still able to speak and paint, and continued to inspire other artists across Canada. Bates was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and, in 1971, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary. In 1980, he was honoured as a Member of the Order of Canada. Throughout his career, Maxwell Bates worked most often in oil paint, watercolour, chalks, and pen and inks; his printmaking was primarily lithography. Exploring both landscape and the figure, recurring motifs in his work include beggar kings, café scenes, cocktail parties, puppets, the Alberta prairies, and scarecrows. According to Nancy Townshend, “Maxwell Bates contributed uniquely and profoundly to Expressionism, one of the major international art movements of the twentieth century.… Expressionism fundamentally provided an outlet for Bates’ deep social conscience and tremendous affirmation of humanity. Bates’ Expressionism came from his search for meaning for what is real, and his value of human life.” (1) (Source: "Duets: Shared Ideas in Painting" exhibition text copy, February 2014) —————— (1) Townshend, Nancy. Maxwell Bates: Canada’s Premier Expressionist of the 20th Century. His Art, Life and Prisoner of War Notebook. Montreal: Snyder Hedlin Fine Arts, 2005.