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James Blomfield

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James Jervis Blomfield (1879-1951) was an English-born Canadian artist and designer. He is best known for his design of the coat of arms of Vancouver and as a pioneer in the field of stained glass art in Canada, with an extensive body of works completed in British Columbia and Ontario, including the Beechwood Cemetery Mausoleum in Canada's national cemetery in Ottawa. He lived in Toronto for the last 30 years of his life.

Background

File:Coat of arms of Vancouver.png
Vancouver's coat of arms which Blomfield designed

He was born James Alfred Bloomfield in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. The middle name he added from his mother's maiden name later in life when he also dropped the second 'o' in Bloomfield.[1] He moved to Canada with his family after working for a period of time as a junior draftsman.[2] He had been born deaf.[3] In Canada he studied painting and engraving in Calgary, Alberta (1887, 1889).[2] His father Henry Bloomfield was an artist and engraver and the family lived in Calgary before settling in New Westminster, British Columbia. There in 1890, Henry established the first art glass studio in British Columbia which he ran with his sons James and Charles, later moving the operation to Vancouver in 1899.[4] James Blomfield attracted the attention of Lord Aberdeen who paid for his art education in England and Belgium.[5]

Foundations & work

On his return to Canada, his career flourished with such commissions as Holy Trinity Cathedral, New Westminster,[6] St. Paul's Anglican Church in Vancouver, Gabriola, the home of Benjamin Tingley,[4] and the original Rogers Window at Government House in Victoria (destroyed by fire in 1957).[7]

Together with Robert McKay Fripp, S.M. Everleigh, and A. Woodroffe, in 1900 he co-founded the Arts and Crafts Association of Vancouver,[8] which later became the Studio Club (1904) and finally the British Columbia Society of Fine Arts (1908).[1]

Some time after the turn of the century, he moved to Washington State and later to Chicago where he became professor of design at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art. In 1918 he worked for the Christian Science Monitor as a staff writer.[5]

Final years

By 1922, he had removed to Toronto where he would spend his final years. He died after being struck by an automobile in downtown Toronto at the age of 72. He was married in 1903 to Mary Augusta Diamond of Belleville, Ontario, who predeceased him in 1930. They had no children. Their remains are interred at the Hamilton (now Bayview) Mausoleum[9] in Hamilton, Ontario; the stained glass windows of the mausoleum were designed by Blomfield in the 1920s.[4]

Recognition

In 1982, a plaque commemorating Blomfield was unveiled at the Hamilton Mausoleum.[4] There is a plaque on his former home at W 10th Ave & Columbia St, in Vancouver. Blomfield's name is included on the official list of potential Vancouver street names.[10] He was a member of the Ontario Sociery of Artists.

References

  1. ^ a b Vanderhill, Jason. "Illustrated Vancouver Volume Four: Who was James Jervis Blomfield?". Vancouver Is Awesome. Vancouver Is Awesome Inc. Retrieved 28 October 2012. Blomfield is frequently identified in auction literature as James Jerris Blomfield. The editor has communicated with Mr. Underhill who asserts that is incorrect and probably results from a transcription error where the 'v' in Jervis was mistaken for an 'r'. As noted in the text, the name comes from the artist's mother's maiden name.
  2. ^ a b "Blomfield, James, 1872-1951". Start your Research. Ontario Ministry of Government Services. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  3. ^ "JAMES JERRIS BLOMFIELD OSA". Art Glass Studio and Antiques. Art Glass Studio and Antiques. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Davis, Chuck. "James Blomfield". The History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  5. ^ a b Colin S. MacDonald, "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists."
  6. ^ See this discussion of the Masonic elements in this windows.
  7. ^ "The rogers Window". Government House. Office of the Lieutenant Governor of BC. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  8. ^ The Canadian Architect and Builder, Volume 13, Issue 5, Page 93, (1900)
  9. ^ Markey. "Our Heritage". Bay Gardens Funeral Home. Bay Gardens Funeral Home. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  10. ^ List of Potential Vancouver Street Names

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