Artists Biographies

Abel Lee was born in 1918, in Jõhvi, Estonia. He began developing his talent at the Tallinn Art Academy. After living in Sweden and Finland, he immigrated to Canada in 1951.

From 1945-50 primarily active as a graphic artist and painter.  Exhibited in Finland, where he gained recognition for his illustration of A. Kivi’s work, in Sweden until 1950. 

Exhibited in 1972 at the First Estonian World Festival Art Exhibition at Tartu College and in 1975 at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario where his work is on permanent collection.

Ants Vomm was born on June 4, 1931 in Tartu, Estonia. After his mother fled with son Ants and daughter Mai from the Soviet invasion, the family members were interned in an American camp for displaced persons for four years in Germany.

Articles in many periodicals, magazines and catalogues, in General Art History in 1937, EKKT’s 1996 Art Album, Estonian Art in Exile-Lexicon, 1980.

The Russian invasion of Estonia forced her family to flee to Germany.  After the war Arville Puström studied at the Art Academy of Düsseldorf (1946-1949).

August Vomm was born on July 4th 1906 in the Penuja township of the Abja region of Estonia close to the Latvian border. August studied portraiture under Ado Vabbe at […]

Founding member of EKKT.  Twice elected President (1958-60) and (1969-90) or a total of 25 years.

Worked as a fashion and commercial artist in Montreal, New York, Monterey, California and Toronto. 

I am Emma Tumanyan, an artist from Armenia. I was born in 1993 in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. I graduated from the School of Fine Arts. I started painting […]

Exhibited in countless exhibitions in Europe, U.S.A., Canada and Australia, including one-man shows in Washington, New York, Stockholm, Munich, Brussels, Rome, Parmas, Helsinki, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.

Studied under Prof. Fileen at Art Academy of Helsinki in Finland. Discovered frozen watercolor technique.

Founding member of New Canadian Artists in Toronto in the early 1950’s (now known as Colour and Form). Works on permanent collection at Lund University in Sweden.

Worked since 1952 as a professional painter, graphic artist and commercial designer. Traveled for study purposes throughout Europe, the United States and Mexico.

Founding member of EKKT.  Twice elected President (1958-60) and (1969-90) or a total of 25 years.

Helmi Herman was born in southern Estonia in 1916 into a family with seven siblings. She began her art studies in Tallinn during the World War II and was later […]

My name is Ilona Burghardt and I was born in London, Ontario. I attended at the University of Western Ontario, and the Ontario College of Art. I started drawing when […]

Born in Toronto, Canada on August 13,1956. Grew up on dairy farm in Tottenham, Ontario. Graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1978. Studied [...]

Upon his arrival in Canada with the help of the Canadian Red Cross in Halifax, Nova Scotia he organized the first independent exhibition by an Estonian artist in Canada.

Johann Naha was born in Riga, Latvia on January 3, 1902. He studied graphic design and applied arts at the Estonian National Academy of Arts  in Tallinn and was a […]

Jose was born in Argentina in 1943. He studied graphic arts. Art is in his soul. He has painted all his life. Exhibited his works in New York, Europe and […]

Kaarin was born in Toronto, lived a couple of years in Helsinki, Finland (1965-1967) and later attended the Toronto French School. She studied at the Ontario College of Art and […]

Canadian artist Liina Peacock has held a life-long interest in visual arts.   Peacock is a respected, abstract/mixed media artist, who is inspired by contemporary living and inventive expression.  Through her […]

Born on May 5, 1924 on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia.  As a student, he began painting watercolours and his works were quickly purchased throughout the country.

Art teacher in Tottenham and Beeton Public Schools for three years in the early 1970’s. Past curator of Estonian Arts Centre art collection in Toronto.

Osvald Timmas was born in 1913 in the County of Kärla, Saaremaa, Estonia. He studied economics at the University of Tartu from 1939 to 1944.

Born on July 9, 1922 in Järva-Jaani, Estonia.  Studied with George Jensen in Copenhagen (1946-48) and later at l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris, France.  Studied modeling, ornamental art and ceramics […]

Ruth Tulving, RCA ( 1930-2012) was an Estonian-born painter and printmaker. Coming to Canada as a young teen, and passionate about art, she enrolled in the Ontario College of Art.  She graduated  at […]

An Estonian-Argentine artist, Sirje now lives and works in Miami, while travelling and exhibiting worldwide. Her work has been shown at the UNITED NATIONS headquarters in NYC and she has […]

After studying art and design at Northern Secondary School in Toronto, Steven began his career as a graphic designer and production artist in the mid-sixties. During the next ten years […]

Sculptor Tauno Kangro was born on May 25th 1966 in Tallinn. Kangro began to study art already in his school days, at Kalju Reitel’s Sculpture Studio.

Toomas Vink-Lainas. Born 1943 in Tartu, Estonia. He passed away January, 2015 in Shokan, NY. He lived in the area for over 30 years. He was a successful graphic artist, […]

Multi-media artist born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her grandparents were born in Estonia and emigrated to Sweden during WWII, then to Canada. She has a natural artistic talent, seeing beauty […]

Paints mainly with oils and acrylics.  Her work hangs in independent collections in Sweden, Estonia and Canada.  Resides in Toronto.

Velta Paparde was a worldly woman of many talents, born in Liepāja, Latvia 1909. She studied art with fellow Baltic women at the Art Academy of Latvia in Riga and developed her technique over […]

He likes to paint mostly landscapes and has exhibited many times at the Toronto Estonian House Gallery.