Edwin Holgate   1892-1977

Photograph courtesy of Edwin H. Holgate.

Edwin Holgate joined the Group in 1931 and is considered to have played a relatively minor role in their history. Previous to joining, Holgate had exhibited with the group as an invited contributor. He never exhibited as a Group member due to their disbanding shortly after he joined.

Holgate was born in Ontario, but raised in Montreal, where he began studying art at an early age under William Brymer. Following a number of years in Paris, both before and after the war, he returned permanently to Montreal in 1922. Holgate than opened a studio and taught wood engraving at the Ecole des Beaux Arts.

He was friendly with Jackson and the Montreal artists of the Beaver Hall group and often went sketching with them in Quebec. At this point, he was considered a promising young artist, capable of competent works such as The Cellist. However, Holgate never seemed to develop to the potential indicated by his early works.

His best known works are a series combining nudes and landscapes.