Since his first one-man show in 1967, Bateman has had numerous sell-out exhibitions in Canada, the United States and Great Britain. His work is in many public and private collections, including several museums. He was commissioned by the Governor General of Canada to do a painting as the wedding gift for HRH The Prince Charles from the people of Canada. His work is also included in the collections of HRH The Prince Philip, the late Princess Grace of Monaco and Prince Bernard of the Netherlands. Bateman has had many one-man museum shows throughout North America, including an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; most of these shows have drawn record-breaking crowds. His honors, awards and honorary doctorates are numerous; he was made Officer of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian award. He has also been the subject of six films. Two books of his art, The Art of Robert Bateman and The World of Robert Bateman, have made publishing history; they have sold more than a half million copies. a third book of his art, Robert Bateman: An Artist in Nature, focuses on his work both as a painter and a conservationist.

With a degree in geography from the University of Toronto, Bateman's art reflects his commitments to ecology and preservation. Since the early 60's, he has been an active member of naturalist clubs and other conservation organizations. This involvement has increased in recent years and is now on a global scale. He has become a spokesman for many environmental and preservation issues and has used his artwork and limited edition prints in fundraising efforts, which have provided millions of dollars for these worthy causes. He says, "I can't conceive of anything being more varied and rich and handsome than the planet Earth. And its crowning beauty is the natural world. I want to soak it up, to understand it as well as I can, and to absorb it . . . and then I'd like to put it together and express it in my paintings. This is the way I want to dedicate my work."  

ROBERT McLELLAN BATEMAN
 

Resides:    Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada

Education
Forest Hill High School, Toronto, 1950
University of Toronto, B.A., 1954
Ontario College of Education, 1955

Major Exhibitions
Tryon Gallery, London, England: 1975 & 1979
Beckett Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario: 1978 & 1987
"Images of the Wild", National Museum of Natural Sciences,
Ottawa, 1981-82 (travelling exhibit of major Canadian museums)
Le Conseil International de la Chasse et de la Conservation de
Gibier, Monaco, 1982 (travelling exhibition of major European cities)
Greenville County Museum of Art, South Carolina, 1985
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, 1987
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, 1986
Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., 1987
Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA 1988
Beckett Gallery, Hamilton, 1991
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Museum 1991
Carnegie Museum of Natural History 1991
Canadian Embassy, Tokyo, 1992 (travelling California Academy of Sciences
April '92, Los Angeles Museum of Natural History Nov '92, Vancouver
Museum May '93, Victoria Art Gallery Sept '93)
Suntory Museum, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan "Canadian Wildlife Artists"
(Five Canadian wildlife artists) Dec.'95-Feb.'96
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, April-June '97
National Museum of Wildlife Art, May '97- Nov.'97
Art Gallery of Algoma, September '97- November '97
Burlington Art Centre, June-July 2000
"Diversities" preview show, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney BC, Aug. -Sept., 2000
"Diversities", Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, SA, Oct. - Nov., 2000
Retrospective Tour: Wm. S. Fairfield Public Gallery, Sturgeon Bay, WI; Genesee
County Museum, Mumford, NY; The Wildlife Experience, Denver, CO; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ; Bruce Museum of Arts & Sciences, Greenwich, CT; Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX, May 2002 - Nov. 2003
Beckett Gallery, Toronto, Oct. 2002
“Robert Bateman: A Portfolio”, ArtSpring, Salt Spring Island June 2004: Gerald
Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, August 2004

Permanent Collections
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
Burlington Art Centre, Burlington, Ontario
Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin
Denver Art Museum
Hamilton Art Gallery, Ontario
Genesee Country Museum, New York
Glenbow Museum, Alberta
National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson WY
HRH The Prince Charles
HRH The Prince Philip
HRH The late Princess Grace of Monaco
HRH Bernhard, Prince of the Netherlands

Commissions
World Wildlife Fund, Endangered Species Silver Bowl, 1971
Canada Post, Endangered Species Postage Stamp Series, 1976-1981
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Toronto, "Window Into Ontario", 1977
Government of Canada, wedding gift to HRH The Prince Charles,
"Northern Reflections - Loon Family", 1981
Royal Canadian Mint, Platinum Polar Bear Coin Series, 1990
National Capital Commission, Canadiana Fund (Official Residences Permanent
Collection), "Winter Pond - Mergansers", 2000

Major Academic Honours
Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, Colby College, 1989
Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, Northeastern University, 1991
Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, Brock University, 1982
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Laurentian University, 1987
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, University of Guelph, 1984
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, University of Victoria, 2003
Doctor of Letters, Fine Arts, honoris causa, Lakehead University,1986
Doctor of Letters, Fine Arts, honoris causa, McMaster University,1983
Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Carleton University, 1982
Doctor of Science, honoris causa, McGill University, 1995

Major Honours and Awards
Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal, 1977
Artist of the Year, American Artist magazine, 1980
Excellence Award in Arts for Contribution to Artistic Community,
Hamilton-Wentworth, Ontario, 1980
Master Artist, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum,
Wausau, Wisconsin, 1982
Officer of the Order of Canada, 1984
Member of Honour Award, World Wildlife Fund, 1985,
(presented by HRH The Prince Philip)
Governor General Award for Conservation, Quebec City, Canada,
1987
Lescarbot Award presented by Canadian Government, May 1992
Society of Animal Artists Award of Excellence 1979, 1980, 1981, 1986,
1990
Rachel Carson Award presented by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Washington D.C., 1996
Golden Plate Award presented by the American Academy of Achievement, 1998
U.S. National Audubon Society, one of 20th Century's 100 Champions of
Conservation, 1998
Order of British Columbia, 2001
Rungius Medal presented by the National Museum of Wildlife Art, 2001
Queen’s Jubilee Medal, 2002
Perkin’s Partner in Conservation Award presented by The Wild Canid Center, 2003
Roland Michener Conservation Award presented by the Canadian Wildlife Federation, 2003
Chevron Texaco Conservation Award, 2003


Schools
Robert Bateman Elementary School, Ottawa, Ontario
Robert Bateman Secondary School, Abbotsford, British Columbia
Robert Bateman Secondary School, Burlington, Ontario

Books
The Art of Robert Bateman, biography by Ramsay Derry,
Madison Press Books, 1981 (French ed. 1982; German ed. 1984)
Ten Top Wildlife Artists, by Patricia Van Gelder, 1982
Wildlife Artists at Work by Patricia Van Gelder, Watson-Guptil, 1982
Wildlife Painting - Techniques of Modern Masters, Susan Rayfield,
Watson-Guptil, 1985
The World of Robert Bateman, biography by Ramsay Derry,
Madison Press Books, 1984
Twentieth Century Wildlife Artists by Nicholas Hammond, 1986
From the Wild by Christopher Hume, 1986
Painting Birds by Susan Rayfield, Watson-Guptil, 1988
Robert Bateman by Marjorie E. White, Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1989
Robert Bateman: An Artist in Nature, biography by Rick Archbold,
Madison Press Books, 1990
African Wildlife Art by David Tomlinson, Clive Holloway Books, 1991
Robert Bateman: Natural Worlds, text by Rick Archbold,
Madison Press Books, 1996
Safari, by Robert Bateman and Rick Archbold, Madison Press Books, 1998
Thinking Like a Mountain, by Robert Bateman & Rick Archbold, Penguin Books,
2000
Design & Composition Secrets of Professional Artists, by the editors of
International Artist magazine, North Light Books, 2001
Wildlife Art: 60 Contemporary Masters & Their Work, by Joan Muvskens Pursley, Portfolio Press, c2001
The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes by Peter Matthiessen, Paintings
and Drawings by Robert Bateman, Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, 2001
Birds, by Robert Bateman & Kathryn Dean, Madison, 2002
Bateman’s Backyard Birds, to be released Fall 2005

Films
"Robert Bateman", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1972
"Images of the Wild: A Portrait of Robert Bateman",
National Film Board of Canada, 1978
"The Nature Art of Robert Bateman", Eco-Art Productions, 1981
"Robert Bateman - A Celebration of Nature", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1983
"Robert Bateman - Artist/Naturalist", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 1984
"A Day in the Life of Robert Bateman", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1985
"Robert Bateman" Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1994
"Life and Times of Robert Bateman", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1997
"Down to Earth", Zephyr Films, 2001

Major Memberships* and Affiliations
*Advisory Board, Pollution Probe
Advisory Committee Member, Gaylord A. Nelson Environmental Endowments
*Advisory Council, Ecotrust
Board Member, British Society for Wildlife Artists
*Board Member, Jane Goodall Institute, Canada
Council of Patrons, Earthroots
Director, Charles Darwin Foundation of Canada
Honorary Board Member Canadian Environmental Defense Fund
Honorary Board Member Friends of Point Pelee Endowment Fund
Honorary Chairman, Harmony Foundation, Victoria
Honorary Chairman, Return of the Peregrine Falcon Project
*Honorary Director, Kenya Wildlife Fund
Honorary Director, Long Point Bird Observatory, Ontario
Honorary Director, Niska Wildlife Foundation, Guelph
Honorary Director, North American Native Plant Society
*Honorary Director, Sierra Legal Defense Fund
*Honorary Life Member, Audubon Society
Honorary Life Member, Burlington Cultural Centre, Ontario
*Honorary Life Member, Canadian Wildlife Federation
Honorary Life Member, Federation of Ontario Naturalists
*Honorary Life Member, Sierra Club
Honorary Member, Elsa Wild Animal Appeal, Toronto, Ontario
Honorary Member, Federation of Canadian Artists since April 1983
Honorary Patron, The Land Conservancy of British Columbia
Life Member, Federation of British Columbia Naturalists
Member of Advisory Council, CODE
Member Explorer’s Club
Past Commissioner, Niagara Escarpment Commission, Georgetown, Ontario:
1973-85
Past Director, Art Gallery of Ontario
Past Director, Federation of Ontario Naturalists
Past Director, Hamilton Naturalist Association, Ontario
Patron, Wild Bird Trust of British Columbia
Patron, Brant Wildlife Festival
*Royal Canadian Academy of Arts