Eleanor Oltean

Saskatchewan NAC Auction House Biography and Notes

Eleanor Oltean (nee Lloyd) was born in Calgary, Alberta, in 1924. Growing up, she spent time on her grandparents' ranch, where she was inspired by the surrounding trees. Oltean's mother, who was a graduate of Edinburgh's College of Art, gave Oltean some instruction in how to paint and draw. In 1942, Oltean took a correspondence art course through the Department of Education in Edmonton. Otherwise, she was self-taught. Oltean moved to Saskatchewan in 1949, after marrying. She spent most of this time in the small community of Pense (1960-1985). Unsurprisingly, many of Oltean's realist paintings in both oil and watercolour focus on the prairie landscape, and reflect Oltean's interest in trees and flowers. Her work has been exhibited at galleries in Saskatchewan and Alberta since 1966, including 35 solo shows, and is represented in the collections of the Government of Saskatchewan, University of Saskatchewan, Canadian Wheat Board (Winnipeg), and International Harvester (Regina). Oltean lectured on painting and drawing throughout Saskatchewan from 1965 to 1980, and worked for one year as a drawing and oil-painting instructor at Pense School (1969-1970). In 1981, she published a children's fairy tale, Tricksy Dee, which she wrote and illustrated. Oltean moved to Calgary in 1985, and worked designing collectors' plates until her retirement at the age of 80. In 2008, she published Tricksy Dee in Winter, a sequel to her first children's book. Eleanor Oltean died in Calgary, in February 2016.