The Theatre of the Self
The Life and Art of William Ronald

Robert J. Belton

About the Book

"Robert Belton's sympathetic, absorbing biography deals intelligently with both the troubled, abrasive personality and the impressive painting of William Ronald. The Theatre of the Self substantially enlarges our knowledge of Canadian art history and the artists who lived it." - Robert Fulford, author, journalist, broadcaster and editor

From the Introduction:

"Common knowledge has it that Ronald is primarily a historical figure whose contribution to Canadian art lies in the formation of the free-thinking Painters Eleven in the 1950s. This is correct enough, but concomitant with it is the tacit assumption that his choice to downplay painting temporarily for a career in broadcasting implies that his later years were substantially a matter of showmanship and/or charlatanism.... [Ronald is] one of the more genuinely fascinating characters in Canadian culture, one to whom we are indebted for much more than a spirit of internationalism running counter to what was thought of in the 1950s as the choke-hold of the Group of Seven."

About the Author

Dr. Robert Belton has taught the history of art and aesthetic theory and criticism at McMaster University, the University of Western Ontario, and Queen's University, where he received the Alma Mater Society Frank Knox Award for Teaching Excellence (1991-92) and the Arts and Science Undergraduate Society Award for Teaching Excellence (1991-92). Currently, he is an Associate Dean of Arts at Okanagan University College in Kelowna, B.C. Dr. Belton has also published The Beribboned Bomb: The Image of Woman in Male Surrealist Art and Sights of Resistance: Approaches to Canadian Visual Culture (both with University of Calgary Press).

Table of Contents

1. Childhood and Adolescence
2. The Ontario College of Art
3. The Advent of Painters Eleven
4. The First Years in New York
5. The Kootz Gallery Years
6. One of the Most Hated Men in Broadcasting
7. From Retrospective to Prime Ministers
8. The Later Years

Orders