David Blackwood

David Lloyd Blackwood (November 7, 1941 – July 2, 2022) was a Canadian artist known chiefly for his intaglio prints, often depicting dramatic historical scenes of Newfoundland outport life and industry, such as shipwrecks, seal hunting, iceberg encounters and resettlement. He also created paintings, drawings and woodcuts. His work is considered "unrepentantly nationalistic".

Early life Blackwood was born in Wesleyville, Newfoundland, on November 7, 1941. His family was involved in seafaring, which guided the artwork he later made. He opened his first art studio in 1956, and was awarded a scholarship three years later to study at the Ontario College of Art. and earned ten international film awards. and Black Ice: David Blackwood Prints of Newfoundland (2011). In 2003, he became the first practicing artist to be named Honorary Chairman of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), which maintains a Blackwood Research Centre and a major collection of his work. He resided in Port Hope throughout his later years while keeping a studio in Wesleyville, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Blackwood died on July 2, 2022, at his home in Port Hope. He was 80, and suffered from an unspecified long illness prior to his death. He was granted an honorary Doctor of Letters by Memorial University of Newfoundland and an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Calgary in 1992. He later received the Order of Ontario in 2002. Blackwood was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).

A street in Sarnia, Ontario, David Blackwood Drive, is named in his honour.