Charles Pachter

Bird of Paradise

2021

One of Canada’s leading contemporary artists, Charles Pachter is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, historian, and lecturer. His work is pursued by significant private and public collections.

Born in Toronto, Pachter studied art history at the University of Toronto, French literature at the Sorbonne and painting and graphics at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. His work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the McMichael Gallery. Pachter is represented in public and private collections throughout Canada, and internationally. He has held solo exhibitions in France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and India.

Pachter worked at Expo 67 in Montreal supervising the installation of 60 contemporary sculptures from around the world. He taught printmaking at the University of Calgary in 1969–70. He spearheaded Toronto’s Queen Street West revival in the 1970s and ‘80s by restoring 20 old buildings into facilities for arts usage.

Pachter is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier of France’s Order of Arts and Letters, a member of the Order of Ontario and holds honorary doctorates from Brock University, OCAD University and the University of Toronto, where he is a Senior Fellow at Massey College. He is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals. While often referred to as “Canada's Warhol,” he has his own unique voice.

Pachter’s paintings are in the Portrait Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Embassy in Washington, Canada House in London, the Parliament Buildings, the Prime Minister’s residence, the Governor General's home and the Embassy of France in Ottawa.

Find a collection of original Charles Pachter art on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by OENO Gallery)