America, America by John Esler

Born at Pilot Mound, Manitoba, he studied at the Winnipeg School of Art under Robert Bruce and George Swinton. His prints, low reliefs, which are fabricated by his use of objects like flattened foil pie plates and corrugated cardboard against a background of soft ground etched plates have attracted considerable attention of critics and exhibition judges alike.

Robert Arye noted the following on viewing his work at the Estelle Hecht’s gallery in 1964, “. . . But, exploiting hard and soft grounds, Esler on the whole prefers to stay with etching and it gives him plenty of scope, from the subtle modulations, the deeply felt mood and the far horizon . . .” and he went on to use examples of Esler’s work to illustrate his point. Reviewing printmaking in Canada for Canadian Art, J. Barry Lord selected Esler’s work as a striking example in surface effects from the Winnipeg area of achievement.

Esler’s work was also shown at the Canadian Water Colours, Drawings and Prints 1966 at the National Gallery of Canada. His awards include Second Prize, Annual Calgary Graphics Exhibition 1962 and First Prize in 1963; the C. W. Jefferys’ Award at the Canadian Society of Graphic Art Exposition provincial de Québec 1965. He lived in Calgary.

Sources: "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F", compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1977