Onley, Toni, 1928-2004

Toni Onley was born on November 20, 1928, in Douglas, Isle of Man.

He was a Canadian painter known for his landscapes and abstract works. In 1948, he moved to Brantford, Ontario, where he studied at the Doon School of Fine Art in Ontario. He moved to Victoria, British Columbia, in 1955. In 1964, Onley won a Canada Council grant to study in London, England, where he studied etching and re-established his landscape roots with the Norwich School of Watercolor Painting. Among his works are many watercolours depicting the northern Canadian landscape. Onley created landscapes in the Canadian tradition, influenced by Oriental art. Icebergs, trees, water and coasts are the prominent features in these artworks. He also painted abstractly, particularly during the 1960s, when he produced his Polar series. In 1999, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and received an Honorary D. Litt. from Okanagan University College. Onley was elected an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1963. His work can be found at the Tate Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England; the National Gallery of Canada; the Seattle Art Museum; the Vancouver Art Gallery; the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

He died on March 2, 2004, in a plane crash on the Fraser River near Maple Ridge, British Columbia, while practising takeoffs and landings in a Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer amphibious plane.