ArtsBeat

Ken Danby's portrait of Tim Horton. 1992, oil on canvas.

Reports on the death of beloved Canadian artist Ken Danby, who died on Sept 23 at 67, constantly refer to an essential trip the artist took early in his life to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. There, the story goes, Danby fell in love with the work of Andrew Wyeth, an American realist painter who gave Danby hope that his representational style could hold muster against the prevailing wind of abstract expressionism.

If not for the Albright-Knox, one wonders, might we have started seeing a series of black and white Danby abstractions instead of his trademark paintings of masked goalies and quotidian scenes? Probably not, but it is interesting to think about the unknown effect a gallery like the Albright-Knox might have on artists and even casual viewers from distant locales.

There are probably thousands of stories floating around out there of life-changing, art-related events having to do with any number of the art spaces this city boasts.

Got any of your own?

-Colin Dabkowski