Gustav Hahn Explained

Gustav Hahn
Birth Date:27 July 1866
Birth Place:Reutlingen, Germany
Nationality:German Canadian
Movement:Art Nouveau

Gustav Hahn (27 July 1866 – 1 December 1962) was a German Canadian painter, muralist and interior decorator who pioneered the Art Nouveau style in Canada.[1] Hahn was also an amateur astronomer, and his father, Otto Hahn, owned a collection of meteorites.[2]

Life

Hahn was born in Reutlingen, then in the German Confederation.[1] As a young man, he attended art school in Stuttgart. In 1888 he moved to Toronto in Canada, where he started to work as a designer in an interior decorating firm.[1] Hahn painted murals in public buildings such as the Ontario Legislature and the Toronto Old City Hall, as well as churches and residences.[1]

Hahn's major works include the depiction of the 1913 Great Meteor Procession (titled Meteoric Display of February 9, 1913, as seen near High Park) and Hail Dominion (1906). Hail Dominion was a part of a proposal to make a series of murals for the Parliament buildings in Ottawa with the Toronto painter George A. Reid.[1] For Hail Dominion Hahn used his wife and elder daughters as models for Mother Canada.[1]

Hahn taught at the Ontario College of Art, the Royal Ontario Museum, and Central Technical School. His daughter, Sylvia Hahn, also became a muralist.[3]

His brother was Emanuel Hahn.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gustav Hahn. National Gallery of Canada. 9 Feb 2015.
  2. News: Mystery of the Canadian Fireball Procession of 1913. Dan Falk. Dan Falk. 6 June 2010. Toronto Star. 9 Feb 2015.
  3. Web site: Revealed: a lost Ontario art treasure. Benzie. Robert. 28 August 2016. thestar.com. The Toronto Star. 28 August 2016.