In retrospective of the Illingworth “Buck” Kerr exhibition at Loch Gallery: Capturing the essence of the Snowy Wild West
By Abbas Hussain, April 17 2025—
The Loch Gallery is displaying the work of Illingworth “Buck” Kerr as well as Harry Palmer and Mary Spice Kerr from Feb 1-22.
Illingworth “Buck” Kerr was born in Lumsden, Saskatchewan in 1905. He then studied in Ontario at the Ontario College of Art for three years from 1924 to 1927 before briefly spending time at the Westminster School of Art, London, in 1936.
Once he graduated, he briefly taught at the Vancouver School of Art before finally settling into his home here in Calgary, taking the position of director of the Art Department at the Provincial Institute of Technology which is now the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Under his leadership, the Art Department split to become the Alberta College of Art, which is now the Alberta University of the Arts (AUArts).
Kerr’s significance in Calgary is quite substantial. Having led the Department of Art at AUArts, he has influenced a lot of the new artists that have come out here in the city as well as the province as a whole. Kerr was influenced by legendary artists such as Alfred Crocker Leighton, who is considered the grandfather of Alberta art. His work almost marks a torch-passing ceremony, passed from the old generation who focused on the distinctive landscapes of the prairies, to the new generation of contemporary artists, who are willing to push boundaries as to what’s truly possible.
There are a lot of different aspects of Kerr’s paintings to focus on, but especially interesting is how he captures the essence of the natural beauty of Alberta, as well as his works on abstraction.
In Kerr’s pieces on the landscapes of Alberta. I especially love the way he captures the snowy, frigidly cold nature of Alberta during the winter months. There’s lots of amazing pieces, but there are a couple I’d like to highlight.
The first is First Snow, Kananaskis which is a piece that depicts the mountains and hill, with snow covering the foreground. What I especially love is the technique used to represent the snow, with white spots subtly added to the mountains and hills in the background. It really evokes the charming nature of snowfall and how it adds to the already mesmerizing landscape.
The second is Foothill Road, Winter Night which I believe is a piece that captures the elusive nature of a freezing cold night.
Two other aspects Kerr captures really well in his art are the rural ranches of Alberta, as well as the abstract.
Ranch South of Priddis, Alberta is a piece that obtains the glory of rural Alberta, and shows the exquisite simplicity of rural ranch life
The final piece of note is Untitled (Horses) which depicts eight horses galloping away. What I love about this piece is the choice of colour, with the horses in white representing the animals purity, backdropped with a shade of brown and purple, which evokes a majestic sense of abstraction and beauty.
Sadly, Kerr passed away here in Calgary in 1989. His legacy still lives on with contemporary painters building upon his work. More can be found about his exhibition at the Loch Gallery website.