Persona

Kenderdine, Augustus Frederick Lafosse

1870-1947

A.F.L. "Gus" Kenderdine was born in Manchester, U.K. on March 31, 1870. He was encouraged to paint at an early age by his godfather, Belgian artist Chevalier Lafosse. Kenderdine attended the Manchester School of Art and the Académie Julian in Paris from 1890 to 1891, where he studied portraiture. In 1892, he returned to England where he opened an art shop and specialized in painting portraits and English coastal scenes. His work was exhibited at a number of galleries in England, including the Royal Academy. Around 1908, he brought his family to Canada and began ranching at Lashburn, Saskatchewan. During this time, he thought of his painting as a "hobby;" but in the early 1920s his work came to the attention of Dr. W.C. Murray, then President of the University of Saskatchewan. Murray offered Kenderdine artist-in-residency status on campus, and in 1927 appointed Kenderdine Lecturer in Art. In the early 1930s, Kenderdine purchased land at Murray Point on Emma Lake, a site which became the University of Saskatchewan Summer Art School. In 1936, Kenderdine was transferred to Regina College to help establish an art department there. He died in 1947. The Art School at Emma Lake was renamed the Kenderdine Campus in his honour.