Leonard Wise 
Charles Pachter 
Canada’s Artist

An Officer of the Order of Canada, Chevalier of France’s Order of Arts and Letters, and recipient of the Order of Ontario, painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, and author, Charles Pachter is one of Canada’s best-loved and most celebrated artists.



Pachter is an artist with an astonishing range. His work is witty, thoughtful, moving, and personal. Many works, like
Queen on Moose,
The Painted Flag, and
Hockey Knights in Canada, have achieved a remarkable level of recognition, becoming famous across the country — indeed, around the world. His collaboration with Margaret Atwood on
The Journals of Susanna Moodie has been called “truly the most magnificent book ever to be published in Canada.”




Charles Pachter: Canada’s Artist is a celebration of the life and work — the struggles and triumphs — of a man who has helped to redefine Canadian art. Pachter’s promotion of Canada and its culture has left a lasting legacy — one that he continues to build on.

Table of Content

• Foreword by Tom Smart


• Appreciation by Margaret Atwood


• Introduction


• Prologue: London, August 2016


• Chapter 1: Childhood


• Chapter 2: Lessons Learned


• Chapter 3: Blossoming Out


• Chapter 4: Camp White Pine


• Chapter 5: University of Toronto


• Chapter 6: A Difference Journey


• Chapter 7: Graduate Studies


• Chapter 8: A New Start


• Chapter 9: Canada Rediscovered


• Chapter 10: The Loft Years


• Chapter 11: Home on the Grange


• Chapter 12: The Journals of Susanna Moodie


• Chapter 13: The Painted Flag


• Chapter 14: Recession and Comeback


• Chapter 15: The Baron of Beverley


• Chapter 16: L’artiste et la France


• Chapter 17: Miami Beach Chronicles


• Chapter 18: The Moose Factory


• Chapter 19: The Queen and I


• Chapter 20: From Lake to Town


• Epilogue


• Chronology


• Acknowledgements


• Notes


• Index

About the author

Leonard Wise is a lawyer with a parallel career as a television performer, food critic, and screenwriter. He is the author of seven books, including the bestselling Toronto Street Names. He lives in Toronto.