Tom Forrestall, beloved Nova Scotia artist, pioneer of Atlantic realism, dies at 88

By Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press on November 16, 2024.

Nova Scotia artist Tom Forrestall attends the funeral of his mentor Alex Colville at Manning Memorial Chapel at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., on Wednesday, July 24, 2013. Forrestall died at the age of 88 on Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

HALIFAX – Celebrated Nova Scotia artist Tom Forrestall died at the age of 88 on Friday.

Forrestall’s art won critical acclaim in the 1960s for inspiring a renewed interest in realist painting, and he was known as the pioneer of the Atlantic realism movement along with Mary and Christopher Pratt.

Ray Cronin, writer and art curator at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, says Forrestall was a “prolific painter” and a man who was very generous with his time and encouraging to younger artists.

Forrestall was a lifelong painter and made his living from his paintings since the 1960s.

One of Forrestall’s best-known works, “Island in the Ice,” hangs permanently on display at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, which houses more than 100 of his works in its permanent collection.

Other Forrestall works hang on display in galleries across Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal and Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2024.