Fred T.V. Savard

Fred T.V. Savard (1910-1992)

Tancrede Victor Savard, later known as Fred, was born in Montreal and came to Toronto as a young boy. He received his early training at the Danforth Technical School under Sam Finley and Harold McAvoy, later continuing his studies at the John Russell School of Fine Arts under John Russell himself. He found people had difficulty pronouncing his name, and so Savard started going by Fred instead. Following his graduation, Savard worked as a commercial artist, producing illustrations for Star Weekly and other publications. With the outbreak of the Second World War, Savard enlisted in the army in 1940. Savard went overseas to serve with the intelligence section of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, producing sketches and maps; in spare moments, Savard also sketched for his own pleasure, and he was regarded as an unofficial war artist. Although art supplies were scarce, in Holland he found an art supply factory that had managed to hide its material from Nazi raids.  
          Following the war, Savard continued his studies in Europe. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, as well as in other schools in Amsterdam and New York, before returning to Toronto. Savard returned to the Danforth Technical School, this time as an instructor, and became Head of the Arts Department. Among Savard’s students were Tom McNeely, Don Murphy, Andy Donato, and Bill Vazan. Savard later retired from his position and took up painting full-time; Savard largely focused on Ontario scenes in Pickering and Highland Creek, a community east of Toronto. Savard had many one-man shows, including exhibitions at the Eaton Gallery, Royal York Hotel, Scarborough Gallery, Charles O’Connor Library (Oak Ridges, Ontario), and others. During his career, Savard painted over 26 portraits for Toronto and military families; he did 20 magazine covers for a Montreal firm; and he produced over 50 covers and illustrations for the Toronto Star, in addition to another 50 illustrations produced for many other Toronto publications. He died in Toronto at 82.

Source: MacDonald, Colin S. A Dictionary of Canadian Artists. Volume 8, Part 1.