Red Nasturtiums, David B. Milne, 1937

The fifth stamp in Masterpieces of Canadian Art Series will be issued on June 29, 1992 featuring Red Nasturtiums, painted by David Milne in 1937 at Six Mile Lake on the Severn River in Ontario. David Milne was born near Paisley in Bruce County, Ontario in 1882, the youngest of 10 children. Despite his family's poverty, Milne's future ability as an artist was recognized at an early age. After teaching at a country school for a few years, in 1903 he left for New York to study art. He attended classes at the Art Students League for two years, then supported himself with sign painting and magazine illustration. But he continued to paint, and by 1913 was enjoying some recognition when five of his paintings were displayed at the Armory Show with such greats as Cézanne, Monet, Matisse, Picasso and Van Gogh. In 1916, he settled in the village of Boston Corners in upstate New York, continuing to evolve his personal style. Milne joined the Canadian Army during World War I, and in 1919 he was posted to France as a war artist to paint the devastation. In the late 1920s he returned to Canada, where, despite self-imposed isolation and poverty, he continued to paint. Recognition of sorts came in the 1930s when he sold 300 paintings at $5 each to Vincent Massey. In 1987, a Milne painting was auctioned for $78,000.00. He resumed painting in watercolours in 1977 with energy, freedom and economy and developed it into a sensitive means of emotional expression. Today Milne is considered one of Canada's most brilliant artists and a leading forerunner of contemporary painting in this country.