William Perehudoff Painting

William Perehudoff was born on April 21, 1918, in Saskatoon and was one of Canada’s foremost modernist painters. With a career that has spanned over six decades, he was known primarily as a colorist and part of the Color Field movement. His representation of space has often been influenced by the expanse of Canada’s prairies. Perehudoff’s early interest in muralists like Diego Rivera took him to the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center to study with the eminent French muralist, Jean Charlot in 1949. In New York, he studied with Amédée Ozenfant, one of the co-founders with Le Corbusier of Purism, an offshoot of Cubism. In the early ’60s, Perehudoff’s direction turned to pure abstraction and he attended a variety of Emma Lake Artists’ Workshops, including those led by New York critic, Clement Greenberg and artist Kenneth Noland. William Perehudoff has exhibited internationally and his work is found in numerous public collections. Perehudoff has won numerous awards, including an Honorary degree of doctor of laws, The Order of Canada and The Saskatchewan Order of Merit. He died at his home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on February 26, 2013, at the age of 94.