Robert McInnis

Robert Francis Michael McInnis (b. 1942, Saint John, New Brunswick) trained under Fred Ross and D. Edwin Campbell before working as a photographer and illustrator with the press, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Department of Transport. He later taught in British Columbia before pursuing painting full time. Known for his masterful figurative work, McInnis has painted notable Canadian figures and travelled widely, creating portraits and landscapes that reflect a deep engagement with place and people.Robert Francis Michael (RFM) McInnis was born in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1942, where he attended the Saint John Vocational School under Fred Ross and D. Edwin Campbell and graduated with a Diploma of Applied Arts. After leaving school in 1961, he spent some time working as a photographer for the Telegraph Journal and Evening Times Globe in Saint John followed by five years as a the Royal Canadian Air Force photographer. Later, he worked as a graphic illustrator for the Department of Transport from 1966-67(Ottawa, ON) and moved to British Columbia where he became the Head of the Art Department and Artist in Residence at Prince George College from 1968-71.

At the age of 30, he moved to Toronto to begin his serious art career and began travelling around Canada focusing on the figure as the main subject in his paintings. Over the years he has painted important names such as: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Margaret Atwood, Joesph Plaskett, amoung others. Living and painting in most regions of Canada, provided him the opportunity to express his views and experiences of the terrain and people and this country.