Robert Bateman was born to Mr. Joseph Wilbur & Anne Bateman, on May 24, 1930 in Toronto, Canada. He is a famous Canadian naturalist & painter. He is quite given to wildlife, and is highly impressed with the renamed "Group of Seven," an exclusive club of Canadian 'Realistic' painters.
In 1950, Robert Bateman finished his primary education from the Forest High School, Toronto. He earned his bachelors' degree in Arts from the University of Toronto in 1954 and did his Masters from the Ontario College of Education in 1955. In addition, he has done Doctorate in several fields from different universities. The artist had a long teaching career (almost 20 years) in Arts & Geography, across different High Schools. Robert Bateman married twice. First, he wed Suzanne Bowerman in June 1961, and had three children. Secondly, he married Birgit Freybe in August 1975, and pathered two children.
Robert Bateman was interested in painting since his childhood. He mastered the art of exhibiting the picturesque Nature & Wildlife on canvass. Starting with 'Abstract,' Bateman's paintings transitioned to 'Realism' in 1960s. He travelled intensively and exercised his keen observation of the different faces of nature, as he believes in depicting its beauty in its raw form. He employs projectors and cameras well enough, to capture the various intricacies of Nature, while getting as close to its true beauty and ferocity, as possible. One of the ways, he uses for adding finesse to his works is clicking photographs and placing them as models for his paintings.
"Cardinal in Sumac," "Lawrence of Arabia," "Lost-Wildebeest," "White Encounter-Polar Bear," "Midnight-Black Wolf," "Cries of Courtship," "Beech Grass & Tree Frog," "Clan of the Raven, "" Tadpole Time, "" Awesome Land-American Elk, "" Grizzly & Cubs, "and" Vantage Point – Bald Eagle, "- rank among some of his most famous works. Robert Bateman also did sketches & paintings of people & activities. In one of his interviews, he said that skating people is as easy to him as, sitting and eating popcorn, because he found sketching wildlife more challenging due to the sheer variety imbibed in it. He further maintained that painting or sketching people is not as serious or as challenging a form of art.
Recognition came late to the artist, by 1970s-80s only. For his noticeable and appreciable work, Robert Bateman was honored with the Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977 and was selected the Artist of the Year (1980) by American Artist Magazine. He was also recognized as the Master Artist by Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in the year 1982. Robert Bateman possesses laureateship for many such honors. His exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, in 1987, was one of the largest crowd pullers among artists. Nowadays, Robert and Birgit stay at Salt Spring Island in British Columbia.