Canadian 1906-1980

Maxwell Bates with “Kindergarten” c.1975 Photographed by Karl Spreitz Image courtesy of the Collection of Karl Spreitz

Maxwell Bates’ reputation as an expressionist painter and Canadian architect preceded his arrival in Victoria in 1961. By the time he settled on the West Coast , Bates was exhibiting nationally and internationally. He had begun painting in Calgary when, in 1928, he was banned from exhibiting with the Calgary Art Club because his work was “too modern.” His reception in England was more positive and he became a member of London’s “Twenties Group”. In the 1960s his paintings typically dealt with the enigma between appearance and reality. His series of cocktail paintings evoke the feeling of isolation within a crowd through the mask-like qualities of the figures. Bates was at the centre of Victoria’s social circle of artists and led the founding of the Limners group in 1971.

Yellow Reception 1972
Oil on canvas
78.5 x 93.5
Gift of Myfanwy Spencer Pavelic