Bruce Allen Heggtveit (1917-2002)
Title: ” OUR WINTER FRIEND ”
Size: 4 3/4” x 6 3/4” as seen ( 10 3/4″ x 13 1/4″ framed ) dated 1976 ………….. $395.00
This charming 1976 watercolour by Bruce Allen Heggtveit, titled Our Winter Friend, captures the quiet beauty of a chickadee perched among the soft green needles of a pine branch — a scene that feels both intimate and warmly familiar to anyone who loves Canadian winters. Heggtveit’s delicate handling of the bird’s form, paired with the crisp simplicity of the surrounding branches, gives the painting an inviting stillness that immediately draws the viewer in. It’s a wonderfully personal piece: small, refined, and full of character, showcasing the artist’s gift for elevating everyday moments in nature into something poetic and collectible. A perfect addition for anyone who appreciates fine Canadian wildlife art or is looking for a piece with gentle charm and year-round appeal.
Bruce Allen Heggtveit 1917-2002
Born in Maidstone, Saskatchewan, the son of Mr. & Mrs. Carl Olaf Heggtveit who had emigrated from Norway in the early 1900’s. From a young age Bruce did portraits and landscapes and after his family had moved to Ottawa he studied under Ernest Fosbery and Frank Hennessey. He was athletic as well and excelled in skiing at high school and went on to become a Canadian ski champion in 1938. Later his interest returned to painting and today he is known for his fine landscapes in oils and pastels of Quebec and Ontario and particularly his Gatineau Park hills north of Ottawa where he lived.
Viewing his 1958 exhibit at the Robertson Galleries the ‘Ottawa Citizen’ art critic, Carl Weiselberger noted “The results are such thoroughly pleasant landscapes as ‘Ottawa Valley’, ‘The Trapper’s Cabin’, and ‘Canadian fjord at Ellesmere Island’, ‘Indian summer’ in glowing colours, a fine scene ‘Near Thirty-One Mile Lake’, ’The Sugar Bush’ and ‘Fortune Lake.’ Mr. Heggtveit’s ‘Algonquin Landcape’ (and others) are handled in bright, lively, thick paints, with a surprising sense of air and atmosphere, perspective and spatial depth.”
His work was exhibited at the Den-Art Studios in Ottawa and other galleries. He appeared on the CBC television programme “Four for the Road” and in the 1970’s and became established as an important Canadian landscape painter.
Source: “A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume II”, compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1979
Bruce Heggtveit passed away at the age of 85 on September 13, 2002.
Copyright of the artist and or the artist estate.