Barrie Hale was a passionate champion of young Canadian artists and a trusted voice of the Toronto art community from the 1950s to the 1970s. Hale was known for having moved beyond the usual supportive enthusiasm of contemporary critics, and he was praised for providing in-depth analysis of the members of the Painters Eleven and their work. Originally from Vancouver, Hale moved to Toronto in 1963 and fell in love with the city, which became central to his writing. He was an art critic for the Toronto Telegram from 1964 to 1969, then for the Toronto Star, and he was the author of Out of the Park: Modernist Painting in Toronto, 1950 - 1980. Hale infused his writing with first-hand accounts of the art and lifestyles of the artists that he and his wife Patricia called friends, including Graham Coughtry, Jack Bush and Gordon Rayner, among others. Capturing both the fragility and brilliance of the artwork, as well as the partying and fast living of the artists, Hale’s writing provided crucial insight into the Toronto scene.

For Hale, art criticism required full immersion in the world of the artists. He could often be found at openings, engaged in profound conversation with artists, dealers and collectors, as they delved into the issues of the day and searched for the “presence” in the work. Hale also crossed over into the world of curating. He worked on the 1976 Coughtry retrospective at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa and in 1972 co-curated the Toronto Painting, 1953 - 1965 exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada with Dennis Reid, which was later exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Hale also wrote the much lauded introduction to the exhibition catalogue.

As a friend of artists and a critic and curator, Barrie Hale made his presence felt in the Toronto art scene. His insistence on the necessity of modern art and his perceptive writing have left a lasting legacy for the generations of artists and enthusiasts who followed.

A similar work titled "Magnetawan No.2", 1965, by the artist is in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

Please note: this work is unframed.