Barbara McGivern was a contemporary Toronto artist born in 1945. After working at Columbia Pictures Television for several years, she decided to take up painting in 1981. Three years later, she enrolled at the Ontario College of Art and Design, studying under acclaimed Canadian artists including Graham Coughtry. McGivern graduated in 1988 in Experimental Arts. She was inspired by her teachers, her immediate surroundings and her travels. During a 1992 trip to Europe, she was enthralled by exhibitions of Henri Matisse, Fernando Botero and the French Impressionists. She experimented with many styles and subjects, from abstraction to still lifes to urban scenes. Throughout her career, McGivern was represented by galleries in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton as well as Dubai, Zurich, Berlin, London, Paris and Madrid.
