Toni Onley (1928-2004): A Remarkable Legacy
March - May at the Union Club of B.C.

This exhibition of oil and watercolour paintings highlight the different styles of Onley’s work over five decades. Onley initially gained recognition through the rise of modernism in B.C. he exhibited alongside Jack Shadbolt, Gordon Smith, Takao Tanabe and others in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Featured

Toni Onley
Midnight Sun - Lancaster Sound Entrance
21.5 x 30
Watercolour
1986
$ 9500

Toni Onley
River Rocks - Japan
11 x 15
Watercolour
1994
$ 3200

Toni Onley
Windermere Island, Eleuthera, Bahamas.
10.5 x 15
Watercolour
1991
$ 3200

Toni Onley
Rock and Dead Tree, Murray's Inlet, Lookout Island, Pointe au Baril
10.75 x 15.25
Watercolour
1989
$ 3200

Toni Onley
Cupid's Cay, Governor's Harbour, Eleuthera Island, Bahamas
10.25 x 15
Watercolour
1991
$ 3200

Toni Onley
Black Log,
11.25 x 15
Watercolour
1973
$ 3200

Toni Onley
Shadow Point
20 x 24
Oil on Panel
1983
$ 12000

Toni Onley
White Space 3,
19 x 24
Collage, Oil on Panel
1963
$ 12000

Toni Onley
White Space 2
20 x 24
Acrylic on Paper on Panel
1964
$ 12000

Toni Onley
Savary Island
20 x 24
Oil on Board
1982
$ 12000

Toni Onley
High Valley
20 x 25.75
C. 1970
$ 6500

Toni Onley
Low Tide
20 x 24
Oil on Panel
1986
$ 12000

From the late 1960s onward, Onley returned to more representational subject matter thatbecame famous around the world. Sweeping, loose brushstrokes became Onley’s visual language. His ability to communicate the distinct atmosphere of place brought him recognition and exhibitions around Canada and abroad. As an avid pilot, Onley was able to travel and paint extensively. This allowed him to gain access to many remote areas that others could not, which brought him even greater recognition.

Born on the Isle of Man, he was influenced by traditional English landscape painters, particularly J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) and Archibald Knox (1864-1933). He emigrated to Canada in 1948, studying first at the Doon School of Fine Art in Ontario. After moving to British Columbia in 1955, Onley was awarded a scholarship to the Institute Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. There he studied under James Pinto (1907-1987) whose abstract impressionistic paintings inspired him to experiment with non-objective painting and collage, and later to produce his major period of abstract painting during 1961-1965.

Onley’s work is in numerous public collections including Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Vancouver Art Gallery, National Gallery of Canada, Seattle Art Gallery, The Tate (UK), Victoria and Albert Museum (UK) and others. He was elected into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1964. Onley was the recipient of the Queen’s Silver and Golden jubileeAwards and the Order of Canada in 1999.