Ray Cattell

Ray was born in Birmingham, England, 1921. Since childhood he aspired to be an artist, and he made his name in the visual arts; Ray also loved music, sang beautifully, and played the harmonica. His studies at the Birmingham College of Art were interrupted by WWII when he served in the Royal Navy, 1940-1946. He was heavily decorated for his service on HMS Glasgow and HMS King George V battleship. During WWII he met his beloved Madeline. They married in 1943 and moved toCanada in 1954. Ray first worked as an art director/graphic designer. He launched his career as a fine artist in the parking lot of the Four Seasons Motor Hotel at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition in 1963. This initiated an international exhibition record, featuring solo and group shows with numerous awards. A contemporary of "Painters Eleven", Ray's work was "noted for its quiet strength" by Pearl McCarthy of The Globe and Mail, and art writer Paul Duval referred to him as "a significant figure in contemporary Canadian Painting". Ray was an inspired life member of the RCA, OSA, Arts and Letters Club, and the CSPWC.