Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1930, Robert Bateman was a
keen artist and naturalist from his early days. Bateman painted
wildlife and wilderness in a representational style until his teens
when he began to interpret nature using a variety of contemporary
styles including post-impressionism and abstract expressionism. In
the early 60’s, Bateman rediscovered realism and began to develop
the style that would make him one of the foremost artists depicting
the world of nature. In the 70’s and early 80’s, Bateman’s work
began to receive critical acclaim and to attract an enormous
following.
Since his first one-man show in 1967, Bateman has had numerous
sell-out exhibitions in Canada, the United States and Great Britain.
His work is in many public and private collections, including
several art museums. He was commissioned by the Governor General of
Canada to do a painting as the wedding gift for HRH The Prince
Charles from the people of Canada. His work is also included in the
collections HRH The Prince Philip, the late Princess Grace of Monaco
and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. Bateman has had many one-man
museum shows throughout North America, including an exhibition at
the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; most of these shows
have drawn record-breaking crowds. His honours, awards and honorary
doctorates are numerous, he was made Officer of the Order of Canada,
our country’s highest civilian award. He has also been the subject
of three films. Two books of his art, "The Art of Robert Bateman"
and "The World of Robert Bateman", have made publishing history;
they have sold more that half a million copies.