Toller Cranston is widely acclaimed as the most influential figure
skater of this century, and is also an internationally renowned painter and
illustrator. A lifetime of remarkable achievements make this artist
extraordinary: Olympic medalist; Member of the Order of Canada; three-time
world free-skating champion; Canadian Athlete of the Year;
internationally-known painter, illustrator, author, choreographer; and star
of award-winning TV specials and films.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1949, Cranston is credited as revolutionizing
men’s skating in the early 1970s, with his spectacularly twisted poses, his
unmatched back spirals, and his unfailing flair for drama. He toured with
Holiday on Ice, Ice Capades and Stars on Ice, headlined his own shows,
played Radio City Music Hall billed equally with Robin Cousins and Peggy
Fleming, portrayed a sizzling Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet on Ice with Dorothy
Hamill, and in 1995, had a dramatic solo in Katarina Witt’s international TV
special, The Ice Princess. His greatest television triumph was the 1982 CBC
special Strawberry Ice, which won several prestigious awards and was sold
for broadcast in 67 countries. In 1997, Cranston’s agents, the International
Management Group, organized a televised tribute show that signalled
Cranston’s retirement from pro skating.
To date, Cranston has shifted his focus to his second career as a painter.
As an artist, he is highly respected by his peers and his work has been
exhibited in prestigious galleries around the world. Truly the “skater with
the painter’s eye”, his skating and art have always been interconnected,
with one passion feeding the other. Many of his internationally recognized
paintings deal with skating themes; his work appears in the World Figure
Skating Museum, and the International Skating Union hosted a one-man
exhibition of his work in conjunction with the 1997 World Championships.
In Calgary, Cranston’s work can be found at Artists Of The World (Artevo
Gallery) or visit
www.artevo.com |
