Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Adaskin, Gordon
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1931-2001
History
Born the brother of musician Harry Adaskin, Gordon was adopted by Harry and his wife Frances at the age of five, after his father's death. Although Gordon's birth mother, Rifle, was still alive, she allowed the Adaskins to adopt Gordon, following the elder Adaskin's dying wish. Gordon moved to Vancouver in 1946 and attended University Hill Junior School. However, he would forego his final year at University Hill to attend the Vancouver Art School. Subsequently, Gordon toured Europe, paying particular attention to the museums and galleries of Italy. Returning to Canada, Adaskin went to the Alberta College of Art and taught at the University of Manitoba in the Faculty of Architecture. He remained there for over twenty-five years. His artwork was regularly exhibited at the university and in touring shows, two of which visited Vancouver, the home of his parents.
Adaskin, a visual artist, was also an interviewer and commentator on art and artists. He interviewed many of the leading Canadian artists of the mid-twentieth century, including B.C. Binning and Jack Shadbolt. In the early 1990s, Gordon moved to Gibsons, British Columbia and married Jan Busch, his second wife, in April 1997. Gordon Adaskin died in December 2001.
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Functions, occupations and activities
Artist.