Jack Bush

Jack Hamilton Bush (1909 – 1977), often referred to as Jack Bush, was a Canadian abstract expressionist painter. He was a member of Painters Eleven, an influential group of abstract artists in Canada that formed in 1953 in Toronto.

Bush began his career as a commercial artist and illustrator, while simultaneously pursuing painting. His early works were largely representational, often landscapes and figurative pieces. However, under the influence of Clement Greenberg, a prominent American art critic, Bush shifted towards abstraction in the late 1950s. Greenberg encouraged Bush to embrace the flatness of the canvas and explore the possibilities of colour and shape.

Bush's mature style is characterized by bold, simplified forms, often stripes or fields of vibrant colour, applied to unprimed canvas. His work is frequently described as lyrical and joyous, reflecting a distinctly Canadian sensibility despite its abstract nature. He was deeply interested in the formal elements of painting and sought to create visually compelling compositions through the careful arrangement of colour, line, and shape.

Bush achieved international recognition during his lifetime and his work is held in major museum collections worldwide, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Tate Gallery in London. He is considered one of Canada's most important modern artists and a significant figure in the development of abstract art in North America.