1900 - 1994

Charles Comfort's long career started in Winnipeg at age 14 as an apprentice for Brigdens Ltd. He then went on to study at the Winnipeg School of art, Art Students League (New York) and took classes at the Arts and Letters Club (Toronto).

One of the organizers of the 1941 Kingston Conference, Comfort was a founding member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and contributed to the 1951 Massey Report, which lead to the founding of the Canada Council. He served on the Board of Directors and numerous committees at the Art Gallery of Toronto, and was Director of the National Gallery of Canada from 1959 until 1965. Comfort was a founding member of the Canadian Society of Graphic Art, Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, and Canadian Group of Painters, and held executive positions in a number of art organizations. He received an honorary doctorate from Mount Allison University in 1958, and was honoured with the Medaglio al Merito Culturale and Canadian Centennial Medal. He was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada in 1972.
Courtesy of the National Gallery of Canada

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