| Tom Forrestall was born in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia on March 11th, 1936. He grew up in Middleton and Dartmouth and began to attend art classes at the Nova Scotia College in Halifax at an early age. In 1954 Forrestall was awarded an entrance scholarship to the Fine Arts Faculty at Mount Allison University from which he graduated in 1958. In the same year he received a Canada Council Grant for independent study (one of the first granted) and travelled throughout Europe. In 1959 he became the assistant curator of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and in 1960 received his first major commission -- a painting to be presented to Princess Margaret as a wedding gift from the Province of New Brunswick. Shortly thereafter, having supported himself in various related jobs, Forrestall began to devote himself full time to painting. Forrestall is one of the leading figures associated with the visual arts in the Maritime region. His work has been exhibited and is represented in every major public collection the region and beyond, including numerous solo exhibitions in prominent galleries worldwide. Tom Forrestall's work has been included in numerous group exhibitions in Canada and Europe including Colville, Forrestall, Pratt at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and Aspects of Realism, an exhibition of international art organized by Rothman's. His work is reproduced in most histories of contemporary Canadian art and is featured in High Realism in Canada, the 1974 book by Paul Duval. Two monographs on his paintings and watercolours have been published: Shaped by this Land (1974) and Returning the Favour: Vision for Vision (1992) as well as many exhibition catalogues. Most recently, Tom Forrestall: Paintings, Drawings, Writings (2008) was published in conjunction with his retrospective at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. |
| 2011 Tom Forrestall: Master Works, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC 2010 Tom Forrestall: Paintings, Drawings, Writings - McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, ON 2007 Retrospective, N.S Art Gallery 2005 Trinity Galleries, St John N.B 2004 Gallery 78, Fredericton 2004 Kinsman Robinson Galleries Toronto 2003 Kinsman Robinson Galleries Toronto 2003 Swiss Air 111 crash wreckage drawings, N.S Art Gallery 2003 Argyle Gallery, Halifax N.S 2002 Trinity Gallery 2001 Argyle Gallery, Halifax, N.S. 2001 Kinsman Robinson Galleries Toronto 2001 Gallery Trenta Dua, Milan 2000 Dartmouth Heritage Museum 1999 Kinsman Robinson Galleries, Toronto 1999 Alderney Landing Gallery, Dartmouth 1998 Dalhousie Killam Library, special collection of Note Books 1998 Fog Forest Gallery 1998 Trinity Gallery, St John, N.B. 1997 One hundred miniatures, Forrestall Fine Art, Dartmouth N.S. 1996 Gallerie Dresdnere, Toronto 1995 Ring Gallery, St John, N.B. 1994 The Notebooks of Tom Forrestall, Dartmouth Heritage Museum, N.S. 1994 Tom Forrestall - A Decade, Galerie Dresdnere, Toronto 1993 Island in the Ice, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia 1992 Ring Gallery, Saint John, N.B. 1991 Robertson Galleries, Ottawa 1990 Park Lane Gallery, Halifax 1989 Riverside Art Museum, Vero Beach, Florida 1986 Waddington-Gorce Gallery, Montreal 1985 Gallery 32, Milan 1984 Habemi Centre Gallery, Tel Aviv 1984 Galleria Trentadue, Milan 1983 Canadian Cultural Centre, Rome 1983 Madison Gallery, Toronto 1983 Shayne Gallery, Montreal 1982 Gallery 32, Milan 1982 MacDonald Museum, Middleton, N.S. 1982 Glen Gallery, Calgary 1982 Robertson Galleries, Ottawa 1981 National Museum of Art, Romania 1981 National Museum of Art, Cluj, Transylvania 1981 National Museum of Modern Art, Budapest 1981 Madison Gallery, Toronto 1980 Canada House - Belgium and England 1980 National Museum of Art, Sofia, Bulgaria 1980 Cardigan-Milne Gallery, Winnipeg 1980 Liverpool Academy of Art, England 1979 Saidye Bronfman Centre, Montreal 1979 Art Gallery of Hamilton, ON 1979 Glenbow Institute, Calgary 1979 Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon 1979 Art Gallery of Victoria, B.C. 1979 Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredricton 1979 Dartmouth Heritage Museum, N.S. 1979 MacDonald Museum, Middleton, N.S. 1978 Marlborough Godard Gallery, Toronto, 1978 West End Gallery, Edmonton 1977 Twenty Watercolours and Drawings, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia touring show 1976 Marlborough Gallery. New York 1975 Sir George Williams University, Montreal 1975 Hart House, University of Toronto, - 1975 Marlborough Godard Gallery, Toronto 1974 Art Gallery of Windsor, touring exhibition: Nova Scotia Museum 1972 Art Gallery of Windsor 1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts 1972 Winnipeg Art Gallery 1972 Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris 1972 Boston City Hall Art Gallery 1971 Forrestall: High Realism, organized by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and touring to Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon; Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, B.C. 1970 Roberts Gallery, Toronto 1969 Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, Montreal 1968 Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Sir George Williams University, Montreal 1967 Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, Montreal 1966 Darmouth College Art Gallery, New Hampshire 1965 Roberts Gallery, Toronto 1961-63 University of New Brunswick, Mount Allison University, Dalhousie University. Confederation Centre, New Brunswick Museum |
| 2001 Forrestall/Boucher Art Sales and Rentals, Art Gallery of N.S. Commissions 2001 Alfa chalk exhibition Argyle Fine Art Gallery Halifax 2000 Marion McCain Atlantic Art Exhibition, Beaverbook Art Gallery, Fredericton 1996 Corel Viva Les Arts, Ottawa 1996 Face Value, Nova Scotia Portraiture Art Gallery of N.S. 1996 Between Oceans and Land, Taipe: Taiwan 1997 Resurrection Atlantic school of Theology, Halifax 1998 Texture - Musée d´art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal 1999 At the Great Harbour, The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia 1999 Appearances of Reality, Wolfville |
| Acadia University Archdiocese of Halifax Art Gallery of Hamilton Art Gallery of Mississauga Art Gallery of Ontario Art Gallery of Windsor Atlantic School of Theology Bank of Montreal Bank of Nova Scotia Beaverbrook Art Gallery Canada Council Art Bank CFB Halifax Officers' Mess Concordia University Confederation Center Dalhousie Art Gallery Dominion Foundries Empire Corporation Esso Resources Irving Oil IWK Health Centre John F. Kennedy Library K & D Industries King's College MacKenzie Art Gallery McCain Foods Memorial University Midland Walwyn Capital Mitsui Corporation Mount Allison University Mount St. Vincent University Musee d'art contemporain National Gallery of Hungary New Brunswick Legislature New Brunswick Museum Newfoundland Corporation Nova Scotia Legislature Owens Art Gallery Peerless Carpet Corporation Pierre Elliott Trudeau Public Works Canada RCMP Readers Digest Rideau Hall; National Capital Commission Royal Bank of Canada |
| 2004 - Nominated for the Order of Nova Scotia 2001 - Farm Credit Corporation 2001 - Board of Directors of Nova Scotia College of Art and Design 2000 - Appointed to Board of Governors of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. 2000 - Bell Canada Enterprises 1998 - 125th anniversary R.C.M.P Painting 1998 - Honorary governor of Art Gallery of Nova Scotia 1997 - Society of Tempera Painters Santa Fe, N.M 1996 - Canadian Fund National Capital Commission 1994 - Board of Directors Art Gallery of Nova Scotia 1993 - Board of Directors Robert Pope Foundation 1992 - received the 125th Anniversary of Canada Medal 1990 - painted portrait of Sir John Thompson for Public Works Canada 1987 - Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Mount Allison University 1986 - painted portrait of Trudeau’s three sons, a gift from the nation to the former Prime Minister. Received the Order of Canada 1980 - Honorary Doctorate, University of King's College, Halifax 1979 - limited edition lithograph for the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto 1977 - Queens Silver Jubilee Medal 1975 - Allied Arts Medal from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 1973 - R.C.A. (Member Royal Canadian Academy of Arts) 1972 - outdoor mural, Playhouse, Fredericton, N.B. – Secretary of State Citation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1971 - two sculptures for the Federal Building, Antigonish, N.S. 1967 - outdoor sculpture for the Atlantic Pavilion, EXPO 1965 - Bronze of Sir Winston Churchill for the lobby of the New Brunswick Legislative Building. 1964 - Bronze portrait of John F. Kennedy for the Memorial to him in Fredericton, N.B. (The plaster cast is housed at the Kennedy Library in Waltham, Mass.) |