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Double Vision:
The Twin Talents of
Oscar Cahén


Curated by Jaleen Grove

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén with a red background and a central motif of a barbed, upward-thrusting tall shape, crowned with crescents and several round shapes in shades of green.

After escaping Nazi Europe, Oscar Cahén (1916–1956) made his name both as Canada’s foremost magazine illustrator and as one of its most renowned abstract painters. Before his tragic death at age 40, Cahén had executed countless covers for Maclean’s magazine and other publications while simultaneously founding the avant-garde collective Painters Eleven. Although he worked in Canada for only fourteen years and exhibited his paintings for a scant eight, his role in the development of both illustration and abstract painting in Canada was pivotal. He gave fellow artists and designers confidence to experiment and to stand up to conservative backlash, setting an inspirational example with his engaging art. For more on Oscar Cahén read Jaleen Grove’s Oscar Cahén: Life & Work.



About the Curator: Jaleen Grove

Jaleen Grove is the Postdoctoral Fellow in Popular Print in the Douglas B. Dowd Modern Graphic History Library at Washington University, St. Louis. A Canadian art historian with specialization in illustration studies, she is co-editor of A History of Illustration (Bloomsbury, 2017) and Associate Editor of the Journal of Illustration. Grove also maintains a studio practice alongside her research and writing.



Banner Image: Oscar Cahén, Growing Form (detail), 1953 , oil on masonite, 71.12 x 114.5 cm, RBC Corporate Art Collection, Toronto.

Gallery

Rough sketch by Oscar Cahén of a profile view of a Black man (with exaggerated features) with his hand raised as if playing a piano (the piano is not drawn).

Untitled (Piano Player), 1943

Editorial illustration by Oscar Cahén of an elderly man in a suit, holding a hat and suitcase, surrounded by wreckage in a destroyed city. The illustration is done in black with small touches of green in grass and tree leaves. The title "Hiroshima by John Hersey" runs along the bottom of the page in a green box. The top-right corner has a red box with the text "The Standard Magazine, Montreal, Saturday, Sept. 28, 1946."

Cover illustration for “Hiroshima” by John Hersey, September 28, 1946

Editorial illustration by Oscar Cahén of an emaciated man being held up and placed on a blanket by four other men, similarly skinny with baggy clothes and sombre expressions. Vases of flowers are in the background.

Illustration for “The Californian’s Tale” by Mark Twain, January 24, 1947

Painting by Oscar Cahén of baby Jesus attended by Mary, Magi, animals, and other figures. A star shines bright yellow light down on the baby and Mary, who is dressed in red and white, while the rest of the scene is dark in shades of blue and green.

The Adoration, 1949

Illustration by Oscar Cahén of a group of adults and children standing in an art gallery in heavy coats. The paintings on the wall are mostly winter landscapes and they are crowding around to look at the one painting of a summer landscape. The "Maclean's" wordmark and a few story titles are on the top of the page.

Cover illustration for Maclean’s magazine, January 15, 1952

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén of several round shapes on top of a pillar-like object. Contrasts of dark and light and illusions of transparency give an atmospheric impression of sunlight penetrating a gloomy place.

Ascend, 1952

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén with a red background and a central motif of a barbed, upward-thrusting tall shape, crowned with crescents and several round shapes in shades of green.

Growing Form, 1953

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén primarily done in shades of deep blue, green, and black, with a small area of bright red in the upper left and a strip of orange running down the right edge of the frame.

Small Combo, c. 1954

Editorial illustration by Oscar Cahén of a street scene with a European-style sidewalk café in the centre ("Cafe Europa" written in the window). People in front of adjacent buildings watch as a boy and woman in an apron stand in front of the cafe and wait as a police officer writes them a ticket.

Illustration for “The First (and Last) Ottawa Street Café” by Ben Lappin, July 9, 1955

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén on a white canvas. A roughly outlined shape on the right resembles a bird while a long, dark shape on the left could be interpreted as a figure regarding the bird. A long orange object appears between the two and a scribble in red ink below that.

Untitled (040), c. 1955

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén of a large white figure in the centre with a scribble of colours and shapes where its head should be. The background is olive green to the right of the figure and pink with areas of orange and purple to the left.

Warrior, 1956

Photograph of a mural by Oscar Cahén. Brightly painted barbed and crescent shapes are seen on a wall behind tables and chairs in a cafeteria.

Multi-part Mural for the Imperial Oil Executive Office Building, 1956

Rough sketch by Oscar Cahén of a profile view of a Black man (with exaggerated features) with his hand raised as if playing a piano (the piano is not drawn).

Untitled (Piano Player), 1943

Editorial illustration by Oscar Cahén of an elderly man in a suit, holding a hat and suitcase, surrounded by wreckage in a destroyed city. The illustration is done in black with small touches of green in grass and tree leaves. The title "Hiroshima by John Hersey" runs along the bottom of the page in a green box. The top-right corner has a red box with the text "The Standard Magazine, Montreal, Saturday, Sept. 28, 1946."

Cover illustration for “Hiroshima” by John Hersey, September 28, 1946

Editorial illustration by Oscar Cahén of an emaciated man being held up and placed on a blanket by four other men, similarly skinny with baggy clothes and sombre expressions. Vases of flowers are in the background.

Illustration for “The Californian’s Tale” by Mark Twain, January 24, 1947

Painting by Oscar Cahén of baby Jesus attended by Mary, Magi, animals, and other figures. A star shines bright yellow light down on the baby and Mary, who is dressed in red and white, while the rest of the scene is dark in shades of blue and green.

The Adoration, 1949

Illustration by Oscar Cahén of a group of adults and children standing in an art gallery in heavy coats. The paintings on the wall are mostly winter landscapes and they are crowding around to look at the one painting of a summer landscape. The "Maclean's" wordmark and a few story titles are on the top of the page.

Cover illustration for Maclean’s magazine, January 15, 1952

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén of several round shapes on top of a pillar-like object. Contrasts of dark and light and illusions of transparency give an atmospheric impression of sunlight penetrating a gloomy place.

Ascend, 1952

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén with a red background and a central motif of a barbed, upward-thrusting tall shape, crowned with crescents and several round shapes in shades of green.

Growing Form, 1953

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén primarily done in shades of deep blue, green, and black, with a small area of bright red in the upper left and a strip of orange running down the right edge of the frame.

Small Combo, c. 1954

Editorial illustration by Oscar Cahén of a street scene with a European-style sidewalk café in the centre ("Cafe Europa" written in the window). People in front of adjacent buildings watch as a boy and woman in an apron stand in front of the cafe and wait as a police officer writes them a ticket.

Illustration for “The First (and Last) Ottawa Street Café” by Ben Lappin, July 9, 1955

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén on a white canvas. A roughly outlined shape on the right resembles a bird while a long, dark shape on the left could be interpreted as a figure regarding the bird. A long orange object appears between the two and a scribble in red ink below that.

Untitled (040), c. 1955

Abstract painting by Oscar Cahén of a large white figure in the centre with a scribble of colours and shapes where its head should be. The background is olive green to the right of the figure and pink with areas of orange and purple to the left.

Warrior, 1956

Photograph of a mural by Oscar Cahén. Brightly painted barbed and crescent shapes are seen on a wall behind tables and chairs in a cafeteria.

Multi-part Mural for the Imperial Oil Executive Office Building, 1956

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