David Allan Thauberger

Saskatchewan NAC Auction House Biography and Notes

David Thauberger was born in 1948 in Holdfast, Saskatchewan. He initially set out to study Education at the University of Saskatchewan's Regina Campus, but a summer art course inspired him to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He studied with ceramicist David Gilhooly, who became a mentor and inspiration. Thauberger completed his degree in 1971, and then went to California State University to earn a Master of Arts (1972) and to the University of Montana to earn a Master of Fine Arts (1973). When he returned to Saskatchewan, Thauberger taught art courses and led workshops while painting and exhibiting his work. He is best known for his paintings of prairie buildings, though he worked primarily in ceramics until 1975. Of his passion for art, Thauberger said, "I like everything about art. I like doing it, talking about it, seeing it, reading about it. It's all magic, it's just the best thing there is." In 1976, Thauberger organized the first major exhibition of Saskatchewan folk art, called "Grassroots Saskatchewan." In 1988, his paintings were exhibited nationally in a tour organized by the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina. Some of Thauberger's major commissions include postage stamp designs for Canada Post (1982, 1992), a mural for a Cineplex Odeon theatre (Richmond, Virginia, 1987), and a mural for Via Rail Canada (for inside a train which criss-crossed the country in 1988). Thauberger's work can be found in numerous collections, including the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), the Saskatchewan Arts Board, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Art Gallery of Ontario, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Canada Council Art Bank, and many others. Thauberger became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1997, was named to the Order of Canada in 2008, and received the Lieutenant Governor's Saskatchewan Artist Award in 2009. David Thauberger continues to live and work in Regina, Saskatchewan.