Tom Forrestall, the Nova Scotia artist who gained critical acclaim in the 1960s due to a revival of interest in realistic painting, has died at the age of 88.

Forrestall, whose works are in important public and private collections in North America and Europe, was “an artist artist,” said writer and curator Ray Cronin.

“He was someone who was generous with his time, someone who worked constantly. He was a full-time painter since 1960, that’s how he made his living. It’s a very difficult thing to do anywhere, but especially in Atlantic Canada,” Cronin said. said CBC Nova Scotia News in an interview Friday.

“He was a role model for other artists in terms of integrity and how to be successful, how to make a living as an artist and how to stay true to your own ideals and your own work.”

One of Forrestall’s best-known works, Island in the ice, hangs permanently in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. The painting, which measures almost two meters wide, depicts Devils Island in Halifax Harbour, surrounded by pack ice.

Forrestall was born in Middleton, Nova Scotia in 1936. While studying art at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, he was taught by the iconic Canadian painter. Alex Colville, died in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, in 2013.

“It was (Forrestall) and Mary Pratt and Christopher Pratt. They were all students of Alex Colville, and they created a way of painting based in Atlantic Canada that was really unique in the whole country. They were truly among the artists best known from the 1960s to today in Canada,” Cronin said.

Cronin said Colville taught Forrestall how to paint with egg tempura paints, where powdered pigments are mixed with egg yolks, which dry clear.

“It’s a very old style, a very old technique, going back to the Middle Ages. But Tom loved it and he used it for 60 years,” he said.

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While Colville was a major influence on Forrestall, Cronin said Forrestall approached painting differently.

“Tom was more observant in the sense that he painted what he saw (and) Colville may have invented more of his scenes,” he said. “But Colville was always the role model, he was the person Tom compared himself to every day.

“He was very humble, he never thought he would come close. But I think history will show that he was a peer of Colville, not just a student.”

Forrestall’s paintings went from $25,000 to $75,000 at auction, Cronin said.

He was also a prolific painter. Cronin said Forrestall painted in watercolors “until a few days ago.”

“Very generous with his time and his art”

Cronin said Forrestall was probably the most beloved artist in Atlantic Canada and Nova Scotia.

“He was a pillar of the artistic community, he was someone who was very generous with his time and his art,” he said.

The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia released a tribute to Forrestall Friday afternoon.

In a message published on its Facebook page, the gallery said it was “deeply saddened” by the death of the artist.

“As an important pillar of Atlantic realism, Tom had an uncanny ability to draw viewers into his compositions and lead us to see the extraordinary beauty that is integral to the minutia of objects and everyday life,” perhaps we read in part in the message.

The gallery said it holds more than 100 works by Forrestall in its permanent collection.