Born in London, England, Donald Flather emigrated with his parents to Shuswap Lake in British Columbia, where his love of landscape began. Flather moved to Vancouver in his twenties and, after his education at the University of British Columbia, taught biology and science at various Vancouver high schools, rising to vice-principal of King George High School. Throughout his time as an educator, he continued to paint landscape works and was a founding member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, serving as its national treasurer and exhibiting in their shows. Through this organization he would have come into contact with Lawren Harris, who had arrived in Vancouver in 1940, and certainly the influence of Harris’s painting can be seen in bold works such as this painting of Copper Island with its dramatic light and clear atmosphere. After his retirement in 1968, Flather devoted himself full time to his painting, exploring the British Columbia interior and coast, photographing scenes for reference for future paintings.

For the biography on Torben V. Kristiansen in PDF format, please click here.