Arctic Quest
In 2006, twenty-five artists marked the 100th anniversary of Amundsen’s 1906 navigation through the Northwest passage with a journey of their own.
Painting shown is part of the Vancouver Maritime Museum's permanent collection.
W. David Ward
Painting by W. David WardArtist's statement

Arctic Quest's 2006 journey aboard the Akademic Ioffe was an experience quite unlike my first trip to the Arctic - a Hiking trip across Baffin Island in 1993 - both trips however, began in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut. It was apparent, almost immediately, that much had changed in the North. Iqaluit, which was a city of 3000 the last time I visited, has now grown to 9000. Only one day earlier back in the early nineties (July 21st), when I first saw Frobisher Bay, pack ice covered much of the water just off shore. This year, as satellite maps revealed, not a piece of ice was to be seen anywhere!

My painting "Old Ice" pictures the remnants of disintegrating icebergs off Monumental Island. Davis Strait, east of Baffin Island.

Painting:
Old Ice
6" x 9.5"
Acrylic on Canvas

Biography

W. David WardDavid immigrated to Canada from Yorkshire, England in 1977. He studied graphic design at George Brown College in Toronto and pursued a career as a freelance illustrator and designer. He has worked for leading publishing firms such as Penguin Books and Viking Press. Since 1988 his extensive travels have inspired a rich array of paintings. From Africa, Asia and Central America to the Queen Charlotte Islands, American Southwest and Canadian Arctic, these remote and mystical places have deeply influenced the artist’s creativity and expression. His works depict a wide range of subjects - from people and architecture to wildlife and pure landscape - and are sought after by collectors throughout the world.

In 1992 David was invited along with two other Canadian artists to exhibit at the prestigious Lotte Gallery in Seoul, Korea. This was the first time North American contemporary artists had been privileged to exhibit work in Korea.

He has also exhibited at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson art Museum’s "Birds in Art" exhibition; "American Art in miniature" at the Thomas Gilcrease Museum; "Arts for the Parks" in Jackson, Wyoming, and in annual exhibitions at the Algonquin Park Gallery, Ontario. His paintings are in permanent collections at the Gail Art Museum in Seoul, S. Korea and the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

From his studio in southern Ontario David, in his own words, tries "to portray, man’s relationship to the world in which he lives, more specifically, the natural world and man’s place in it." (Art Impressions Magazine 1996)

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