Norman Denkman: Mid-century Vancouver Artist
A mid-century Vancouver artist who captured the simple joy and beauty in the ubiquitous scenes of life in this bustling coastal city.
Norman Denkman was a Vancouver artist who illustrated many familiar coastal sights and scenes, primarily in the 1950s and 1960s.
These original scenes were commissioned by a gentleman who ran a hardware store in Vancouver during the late 1950s/early 1960s. He had already obtained the publishing rights from another BC illustrator, Edward Goodall, for six pictures of BC subjects and had printed 500 of each image. The plan was to mount the image on a wood plaque, and then clear latex coat each one. A form of découpage that he was calling a “pictoplaque”.
To further this project by including different artists’ views of the country, this businessman was introduced to Norman Denkman by a friend, and visited his studio/gallery on Burrard Street near Davie in Vancouver. After telling him the “Pictoplaques of Canada” plan, they struck a deal, and Denkman was paid to create 8 original illustrations of classic coastal scenes of boats at dock and drydock, boathouses and typical Vancouver houses found on streets in Kitsilano or the West End.
For proper reproduction, Denkman did the outline for each illustration in India ink and brush. The printer then photographed each one to get a crisp image for reproduction. Denkman then added the paint to each one. However, after the coloured ink was added to each one, and before the businessman could return the finished artwork to the printer, a dramatic financial downturn struck, and the business had to be sold swiftly to manage the impact.
The businessman recalls that Denkman may have created a series of silkscreens based on these images, and that they may have decorated the walls of the then new Bayshore Hotel for a period of time.
The original artwork stayed with the owner, but four of the pieces were given away over the years. These final four pieces are open for bidding at 4th Meridian’s online auction, with bidding closing on October 3 at 4pm.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on September 5, 1925, Norman Denkman graduated from UBC and studied watercolour painting in Australia. He worked in oils, watercolour, ink and wash, and silkscreen lithography. His subjects included regional landscapes, mountain and coastal scenes, in addition to animals on occasion. He spent a year travelling in Europe and painted local subjects while there. Norman Denkman passed away on May 30, 1999, in Vancouver.
Now and again a Norman Denkman silkscreen shows up, like this “Stanley Park Penguins in the Rain” in a local private collection.
