Philip Surrey (Philip Henry Surrey)

1910-1990

Born in Calgary, Alberta. His parents practically traveled around the world with Philip during his young age. Surrey first started in art at age 16 working at Brigdens Commercial Art Firm, a commercial art company in Winnipeg. It was there that he met Canadian artist Fritz Brandtner. He then took classes at the Winnipeg School of Art, Manitoba, with Lionel Lemoine Fitzgerald.

In 1929 he moved to Vancouver where he worked as a commercial artist at the Cleland-Kent Engraving Company. There he also took night drawing classes and Saturday painting classes at the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts under Frederick H. Varley. He also attended the night classes under Jock McDonald.

In 1936 Surrey left Vancouver and spent three months at the Art Students League of New York. The next year, he settled in Montreal and found a job at the Standard Newspaper. He kept painting nights and weekends and got involved in the artistic domain, meeting with Fritz Brandtner and becoming friends with John Lyman, Goodridge Roberts, Jori Smith and Jean Palardy. In 1939, he is a founding member of the Contemporary Society of Artist and he is named Treasury Secretary. He is also elected a member of the Eastern Group of Painters. He participates to all of the Contemporary Art Society exhibitions until 1948.

In 1953, he won the first prize at the Spring Exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and he won the second prize at the Winnipeg Show in 1960. In 1964, Editor John McConnell offered Surrey a yearly salary so he could paint full time. The association lasted 12 years during which Surrey had many solo exhibitions. Also during those years, he taught drawing at Concordia University (1965-1975), had a rtrospective show at the Musée d'Art Contemporian de Montréal (1974) and at the Centre Culturel Canadien in Paris (1972).

Surrey received many honours during his career; he received the Centennial medal of Honour in 1967; he was elected member of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1978; he was awarded an honorific Doctorate from Concordia University in 1981; he was elected member of the Order of Canada in 1982. After loosing his eyesight, he took his life in Montreal at the age of 79.

Collections:

- National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal, QC)
- Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal (Montreal, QC)
- Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (Quebec, QC)
- Vacouver Art Gallery (Vancouver, BC)
- Musée d’Art de Joliette (Joliette, QC)
- Winnipeg Art Gallery (Winnipeg, MN)
- Windsor Art Gallery (Windsor, ON)
- Concordia University (Montreal, QC)
- Museum London (London, ON)
- Art Gallery of Hamilton (Hamilton, ON)
- Power Corporation of Canada (Montreal, QC)
- Firestone Art Collection (Ottawa, ON)



Affiliations:

- Royal Canadian Academy (1978)
- Contemporary Art Society (1939)
- Canadian Society of Graphic Art
- Order of Canada (1982)