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GEORGE A. WALKER

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Browse this page for more information about George A. Walker, links to video and audio references, upcoming tour dates and information about his popular courses at the Ontario College of Art & Design.

George A. Walker images

‘The delicacy and intelligence of George Walker’s print-making seems to have come to us from a bygone age. Fortunately, we have George with us now.’

— Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman

 

BIOGRAPHY

George A. Walker

George A. Walker is an award-winning wood engraver, book artist and author whose courses in book arts and printmaking at OCAD University in Toronto, where he is Associate Professor, have been offered continuously since 1985. His artworks are held in collections ranging from the Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, and The Museum of Modern Art (MoMa), New York City and he has had over 15 solo exhibitions as well as been included in more than 100 group shows. Among many book projects—both trade and limited edition—Walker has illustrated 2 hand-printed books by internationally acclaimed author Neil Gaiman. Walker also illustrated the first Canadian edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, both published by the Cheshire Cat Press. The Cheshire Cat Press is a partnership between Andy Malcolm and George Walker which continues to publish limited edition books featuring the writing of Lewis Carroll.

George Walker was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Art in 2002 for his contribution to the cultural area of Book Arts. He is also a member of the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto where he was featured in a solo exhibition of his books and printmaking in the spring of 2019. Walker’s latest book-length project presents the iconic life of Hollywood silent-film star Mary Pickford in a suite of 87 wood engravings.

For more information please visit the Author’s website »

PUBLICATIONS

Mary Pickford, Queen of the Silent Film Era
Mary Pickford, Queen of the Silent Film Era
ISBN 9780889844346

In this wordless biography, wood engraver George A. Walker provides a fitting stage to explore the life of Mary Pickford, a silent film star whose groundbreaking contributions to the motion picture industry earned her the title ‘Queen of the Movies’.

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The Hunting of the Snark
The Hunting of the Snark
ISBN 9780889844308

In this illustrated edition of Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark, master wood engraver George A. Walker provides an uproarious reinterpretation of the classic poem as seen through the convex lens of contemporary American politics.

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Trudeau: La Vie en Rose
Trudeau: La Vie en Rose
ISBN 9780889843868

‘Sticking his tongue out, sliding down a banister, pirouetting behind Queen Elizabeth II, or shaking hands with dignitaries and celebrities, Trudeau’s personality and charisma leap from these pages. Infused by his energy and Walker’s skill, Trudeau: La Vie en Rose proves a resounding success.’

—Peter Dabbene, Foreword Reviews

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The Wordless Leonard Cohen Songbook
The Wordless Leonard Cohen Songbook
ISBN 9780889843752

The Wordless Leonard Cohen Songbook demands close and careful viewing. In this, it is like cinema, or the photographic work of a Richard Avedon or Diane Arbus. Each image is full, suggestive and rich in context and style.’

—Norman Ravvin, The Canadian Jewish News

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The Life and Times of Conrad Black
The Life and Times of Conrad Black
ISBN 9780889843653

‘By eschewing words, Walker's woodcuts are allowed to stand as simple and powerful gestures to a life story that any amount of words would be unable to tell in any case.... These images are, as Tom Smart's closing essay suggests, a kind of text in themselves, and they tell a story that is truly compelling, even and especially if it is a story that requires us to contribute more than usual to its telling.’

—Jeremy Luke Hill

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The Mysterious Death of Tom Thomson
The Mysterious Death of Tom Thomson
ISBN 9780889843486

‘The book does not want to be put down; instead the reader, the observer, re-engages again and again, returning to read into the images a story that eludes understanding just as understanding seems to elude stories without words. This is a book for the shade on a bright summer day.’

—Mandelbrot, Geist

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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
ISBN 9780889843394

‘The classic Alice in Wonderland is known by all, but the story is off the wall enough that one’s interpretation may be different from another’s. Alice Adventure's in Wonderland: Wood Engravings is George A. Walker's own take with woodcuts as he illustrates Carroll's famed story. Showing a unique skill in his interpretation, he captures a charm that’s been lost with the decline of woodcuts, and makes for a unique journey. Alice's Adventure in Wonderland is a must for any fan of the story and unique art styles.’

Midwest Book Review

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Book of Hours
Book of Hours
ISBN 9780889843356

‘Walker has summoned the retrospective tension that exists for many after greeting the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 without a specific regard to personal safety, terrorism, or the rupture of simple daily ritual.’

—Rachel Farquharson, Huffington Post

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A Is for Alice
A Is for Alice
ISBN 9780889843233

‘At the heart of this book is the art of the book, pages kissed by poetic samples of Carroll's writing and bound using artisan techniques onsite at The Porcupine's Quill headquarters. It is a high-quality, collectable edition in which fans of the Alice stories, bibliophiles, and young readers will delight.’

—Patty Comeau, Foreword Magazine

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Images from the Neocerebellum
Images from the Neocerebellum
ISBN 9780889842915

‘Paired with brief explicatory entries describing the pictures, the pages of the book chart a passage into an irrational world in which a central character finds himself in a Kafkaesque world, wandering alienated in a strange space. Others show odd juxtapositions of recognizable things—a tree coming out of a mouth, a person in a bed with oversized hands, pierced faces, and a puzzling device of a circus performer flanked by two barking wolves balancing on balls, arranged as if a heraldic device.’

—Tom Smart, Devil's Artisan

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The Inverted Line
The Inverted Line
ISBN 9780889842144

‘The greatest compliment I can pay it is, there is not a dull spot in the book. He can present us with humour without a hint of them being cartoons. I think he must have fun doing these prints. It is a good example of drawing straight to the point, and not fussing with a lot of extra stuff. These drawings wiggle and dance in space. They are small in scale, but each is huge in heart. They look like they are chiseled out of rock. I’ve had this book laying around, and when a visitor picks it up, I hear exclamations of surprise and awe.’

—James Horton, Block & Burin

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VIDEOS

George Walker on YouTubeGeorge Walker explains the history of wood engraving and what it is, and how it differs from woodcut and linocut. Recorded in August 2007 at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. (Credit: motoronna)  YouTube icon


George Walker on YouTubeAt the 2007 Doors Open festival in Erin, Ontario, George Walker demonstrates how he carves woodblocks to create wood engravings. Tim Inkster assists with the presentation. (Credit: motoronna)  YouTube icon


Images from the NeocerebellumImages from the Neocerebellum: The Wood Engravings of George A. Walker. Video by Allen Zuk, uploaded September 2008. (Credit: Allan Zuk)  YouTube icon


A Is for AliceGeorge Walker is a Canadian wood engraver and printmaker who can also hover in mid-air — truly a remarkable man! On the making of A Is for Alice at The Porcupine's Quill' shop in Erin, Ontario. (Credit: Marc Beurteaux)  Vimeo icon


Book of HoursThe Book of Hours takes place in New York city from September 10th 2001 until the morning of September 11th. This video is something of a movie version of the wordless novel told in 99 wood engravings. (Credit: Neil Exall)  YouTube icon


Tom ThomsonThis video is based on the book which follows the life of Canadian landscape painter Tom Thomson until his mysterious death in Algonquin Park in 1917. (Credit: Neil Exall)  YouTube icon

 

AUDIO INTERVIEW

George Walker AudioAudio Interview: George Walker on his Presses and creating and collecting Wood Engravings. September 2011. (Credit: Nigel Beale, The Literary Tourist)

 

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RESOURCES

Official WebsiteGeorge A. Walker’s official website. The home page contains links to his work, including hand-printed limited editions. Stay up to date on his latest projects with behind the scenes photos.

Official FacebookThe author’s official Facebook page. Contains announcements regarding his frequent events, appearances and exhibitions as well as samples of his work.

Faculty PageWalker’s OCAD U faculty page. Extensive CV with information regarding publications and presentations. Also check out some of the courses that he teaches. (Course offerings subject to change.)

WikipediaGeorge A. Walker’s entry on Wikipedia. Includes bio, career highlights and bibliography.

DA 53DA 53 (Fall 2003) is subtitled ‘Notes on the Tools and Techniques of Wood Engraving’. By George A Walker. Includes seventeen illustrations, a Bibliography and suggestions about Suppliers, Resources and Related Organizations.

DA 68DA 68 (2011) is guest edited by Tom Smart, and features a lead article entitled ‘From Wood Engraving to Graphic Narrative: The Development of George A. Walker’s Xylographica’. The issue also includes a review of George Walker’s Book of Hours by Bill Baker.

 

The Porcupine's Quill would like to acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. The financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) is also gratefully acknowledged.

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