Image of Gus Kenderdine sitting at easel in studio.

Bio/Historical Note: Augustus (Gus) Frederick Lafosse Kenderdine was born 31 March 1870 in Chorlton-upon-Medlock, England. He studied art under his grandfather, Chevalier de la Fosse, at the Manchester School of Art, and was then apprenticed to several established artists in Blackpool. Kenderdine went on to study at the Academie Julien, in Paris, France, in 1891. Upon returning to England he opened Gus Kenderdine Photographer and Fine Art Dealer, but chose to emigrate to western Canada, inspired by the stories of the Barr Colonists and their utopian settlement of Brittania. The family homesteaded near Lashburn (1908-1920) and he fell in love with the beauty of northern Saskatchewan. Kenderdine did several portrait commissions and later exhibited his work across Canada, although he is best known in Saskatchewan. He did several landscape studies in charcoal in a style similar to Gainsborough. Kenderdine sweeping romantic depictions of the Saskatchewan landscape are marked by his training in England and France. His imagery recast Saskatchewan's topography in the comforting image of Europe. At the request of Walter C. Murray, University of Saskatchewan president, Kenderdine opened a studio in Saskatoon and began teaching art classes in 1920. In 1926 he was asked by President Murray to teach noncredit classes at the university. Kenderdine envisioned and brought about the Summer School of Art at Emma Lake, of which he was director from 1936-1947. Fondly remembered by his students, "Father" Kenderdine, as he was referred to in the yearbooks, made a significant contribution to the interest and appreciation of art in Saskatchewan. In 1936 he also became director of the School of Fine Arts at Regina College. Kenderdine died 3 August 1947 while teaching at Emma Lake, and is buried at Lashburn Cemetery. In 1991 the U of S named the Kenderdine Art Gallery in his honour, thanks to a bequest by his daughter, May Beamish. His works can be seen in the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Kenderdine Road in Arbor Creek in Saskatoon honours him.