
William Allister
Biography
William Allister (1919-2008)
Artist's biography from https://williamallister.com/:
"William Allister [1919-2008], nationally acclaimed Canadian artist, was born in Manitoba, Canada, 1919. His adventurous career took him to the far ends of the world—from being a soldier in Hong Kong in his early twenties, a P.O.W. in Japan during World War II, an actor and documentary filmmaker in Hollywood, writer in New York and Mexico, and finally to achieving recognition as an acclaimed international artist until his passing in 2008. His premier novel, "A Handful of Rice," won the Dominion Award for literature in 1961 and was translated into Dutch, Norwegian and Japanese. He also held 9 international first prize awards for his documentary films. In 1986, he was presented with an Author’s Award by the League for the Advancement of Canadian Letters. His second novel, "Where Life and Death Hold Hands," won the Prime Minister’s Award for Publishing from the Canadian Embassy in Japan. In his career as an artist he has held over 45 one-man shows. His works are in collections and museums in Canada, France, South Africa, Mexico, the US, and Japan."
Of Interest: "The Art of Compassion" Documentary, 1995 (52 min.)
"The Art of Compassion" presents parallel portraits of two men, William Allister, renowned Canadian artist and Raymond Moriyama, Canada’s top architect. Both men have transformed painful experiences into sources of creative inspiration. William Allister was imprisoned in Japan after the fall of Hong Kong, and Raymond Moriyama was interned in British Columbia after the Canadian government implemented the War Measures Act. Their creative works bridge two cultures which have had a significant impact on their lives."Influences
From https://williamallister.com/:
"Over the years William Allister grew to love and embrace Japanese aesthetics and was inspired to celebrate and incorporate traditional Japanese art, literature and Buddhism [...]"Website
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