Brian Burke

The late Brian Burke is one of the most notable visual artists to have come out of Prince Edward Island. He became one of Canada's foremost figurative painters with an international exhibition activity.  He left behind an impressive legacy – a solid, beautiful, and haunting body of work depicting his singular focus on the nature of existence. Many consider Brian to be the most significant PEI visual artist of the last half of the 20th century.  He has had solo exhibitions from the 1980s to 2017 all over Canada and the US, as well as in Switzerland, including many group exhibitions.   

Brian was recognized early in his career with a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, which enabled him to travel to New York in 1986, where he broadened his vision.  He initially focused on his immediate surroundings and memories, but increasingly turned to universal themes.   

His paintings are included in prestigious collections like the Canada Council for the Arts Art Bank; the Department of External Affairs, Canada; Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown; the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia; WKP Kennedy Gallery, North Bay, Ontario; The Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton; Art Bank/Art Collection of the Province of PEI; UPEI; Nordstrom Corporation; The Bank of Nova Scotia; TD Bank, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland; his work is in private collections in Canada, US, Asia, Africa, and Europe.  

Burke was named a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts in 2003.  He died in 2017, leaving behind an unforgettable visual legacy.  His work was recently exhibited in a retrospective at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown, PEI. A book accompanied the exhibition. 

Brian received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019.