A trailblazing abstract painter, Raymond John Mead was well known for creating playful but dramatic compositions of line, colour and shape. After graduating from the Slade School of Art in 1939, Mead joined the Royal Air Force. Mead was later stationed in Hamilton, Ontario and then in New York, where he was exposed to abstract art. In 1946, Mead had returned to Hamilton where he held his first art exhibition. In 1953, Mead joined seven other OSA artists to exhibit a non-objective art exhibition called “Abstracts at Home”. Participants of this group show would go on to form the Painters Eleven, a collective that challenged traditional painting and help to establish a new identity of modern art in Canada. Following seven years of being a part of the Painters Eleven, Mead sought to forge his own path and relocate to Montreal. Here, Mead worked as an art director for an advertising firm. In the 1960’s, Mead held solo exhibitions in Montreal, Hamilton, and in Toronto. Mead returned to Toronto near the end of his career, participating in several solo and group exhibitions. Mead was represented by the Christopher Cutts Gallery until his passing in 1998. His artwork can be found in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Algoma, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the National Gallery of Canada.
Source: “Ray Mead Biography”. Art Gallery of Algoma. Accessed October 13, 2025. https://www.artgalleryofalgoma.com/ray-mead.html
