signed & dated
Provenance: Masters Gallery, Calgary, AB (label verso)
Exhibited: Art Canadien Important – Important Canadian Art (2007), Galerie Walter Klinkhoff, Montreal, QC (label verso)
Robert Pilot’s early exposure to art came from his step-father, artist Maurice Cullen, in whose studio he assisted, and with whom he often travelled and sketched. Under the tutelage of William Brymner, Pilot’s training at the RCA and the Art Association of Montreal, an exceptional talent emerged, and his work garnered early recognition. With the assistance of an arts patron, Pilot was able to study in Paris, where he trained at the Académie Julian. He painted at Concarneau and exhibited with the Paris Salon, becoming elected to the Salon National des Beaux-Arts before returning to Canada.
As a young man Pilot accepted an invitation to exhibit at the first Group of Seven show in 1920, as one of only three invited guests (the others were Albert Robinson and Randolph Hewton). He achieved early recognition and success with election into the RCA, the purchase of a work by the National Gallery of Canada, and a solo exhibition at the Watson Galleries. Pilot received many honours during his career, including the presentation of one of his paintings to Winston Churchill as a gift for his 80th birthday, and another to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip to commemorate their visit to Canada in 1957.
