Man and Cow on a Stroll by Hugh Douglas “Bungje” Robertson

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Hugh Robertson took drawing lessons from John S. Gordon at technical school before completing a degree in Architecture at McGill University in 1925. Three years later, while practicing as an architect, he embarked on a sketching tour of Europe. Robertson subsequently held one-man shows from 1932 to 1943 in Toronto, Hamilton, London, Montreal and Ottawa. He exhibited at the C.N.E., R.C.A., and O.S.A., and won the gold medal of the Hamilton Art Association in 1937.

Robertson was a talented painter of landscapes across Canada and abroad, street scenes, portraits and still lifes, among other subjects, in oil and watercolours. His expertise and eye for architecture is apparent in his compositions depicting houses and historic buildings. Fellow artist Frank Panabaker befriended Robertson in the 1930s, remarking: “We quickly became sketching companions and have continued to be all through the years. [He] also quickly became my most helpful and knowledgeable critic.”