Heritage painting stolen from OCAD

The Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) regrets to report the theft of a painting by J.W. Beatty, titled Winter Sunshine, Bellefountain (Cabin at River’s Edge in Winter). The piece is an oil on canvas, 50.8 x 61 cm, and is signed on the lower left: J.W. Beatty.  The painting was discovered missing from a private office at OCAD on Monday, January 8, 2007.  It was last appraised at a value of $25,000.

The painting is of considerable historic value to OCAD and to the public of Ontario.  It was one of the original pieces that established OCAD’s permanent collection in 1970.  John Williams Beatty (1869-1941) was a distinguished Canadian landscape painter and educator, and a contemporary of the Group of Seven. He was invited by Arthur Lismer to teach at the Ontario College of Art (as it was then known) in 1912. There, he founded OCA’s summer school, which ran from 1913-35. Considered a born educator, Beatty was an authority on, and a strong advocate for, Canadian landscape painting as an important aspect of patriotism. He taught at OCA until his death in 1941.

OCAD’s permanent collection contains approximately 3,500 works, covering a wide range of media, by former faculty and students who have been part of the OCAD community through its long history.  Works date from the period of OCAD’s founding to present day.    

 “OCAD takes its role of safekeeping this important heritage collection seriously,” comments President Sara Diamond.  “As a result of this incident, we are undertaking a thorough review of our lending and security policies to ensure that the collection remains safe and accessible to our community of learners and the general public, and that it is a valuable resource for generations to come.”

If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of this painting, they are asked to please contact CRIME STOPPERS at 416-222-TIPS.

Further Biographical Information, J.W. Beatty (1869-1941)

J.W. Beatty was a close associate of the members of the Group of Seven.  He accompanied Lawren Harris on sketching trips, and kept a studio space in Harris’s Studio Building. Beatty also made trips to the Rocky Mountains with A.Y. Jackson and to Algonquin Park with Arthur Lismer. A good friend of Tom Thomson’s, Beatty, along with J.E.H. MacDonald, built the well-known memorial cairn to the artist on Algonquin Park’s Canoe Lake after his tragic death. In 1917, Beatty painted in Britain and France as a commissioned war artist with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Beatty was a member of the Arts and Letters Club, the Ontario Society of Artists and an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. His works are held in major public collections across Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Government of Ontario, Art Gallery of Ontario, Canadian War Museum, Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Winnipeg Art Gallery and many others.