Otto Donald Rogers
(Canadian, 1935–2019)
Holy Land Memory
1981
Acrylic on canvas
Framed: 69 × 69 in. (175.3 × 175.3 cm)
Executed in 1981, Holy Land Memory is a monumental masterwork by Otto Donald Rogers, measuring nearly six feet square. The painting exemplifies Rogers’ unique synthesis of Western Canadian Prairie Modernism, Color Field abstraction, and spiritual contemplation. Divided horizontally across a low horizon line, the composition features vast, luminous fields of warm ochre, cream, and sand tones, anchored by floating dark geometric forms and gestural charcoal accents. The subtle, glowing horizon—accented with bars of deep forest green and terracotta—evokes a sense of infinite spatial depth and meditative stillness.
The title Holy Land Memory refers directly to Rogers’ profound spiritual and visual relationship with Haifa, Israel, home of the Bahá'í World Centre. A devout follower of the Bahá'í Faith since 1960, Rogers made frequent pilgrimages to the Holy Land throughout the 1970s and 1980s before eventually relocating there in 1988 to serve on the International Teaching Centre. In this painting, the vast, light-filled atmosphere of the Canadian prairies merges seamlessly with the ancient, sacred topography of the Mediterranean, embodying the Bahá'í principle of spiritual unity and cosmic order.
Renowned art critic Clement Greenberg famously praised Rogers as "an artist of amazing talent, worthy of an international reputation." As a longtime professor and Head of the Art Department at the University of Saskatchewan, Rogers was instrumental in sustaining the influential Emma Lake Artists' Workshops alongside modern masters like Barnett Newman and Jules Olitski. Large-scale, museum-tier canvases of this magnitude from his peak 1980s period represent the absolute pinnacle of his artistic legacy.
Major Accolades & Recognition:
Member, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (R.C.A.)
Head of the Department of Art and Art History, University of Saskatchewan (1973–1988)
Key Organizer & Participant, Emma Lake Artists' Workshops
Served ten years on the International Teaching Centre at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel (1988–1998)
Selected Permanent Collections:
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto, ON)
Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal / Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal, QC)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, MA)
Museum of Contemporary Art / MACBA (Barcelona, Spain)
Remai Modern / Mendel Art Gallery (Saskatoon, SK)
MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina, SK)
National Gallery of Iceland (Reykjavík, Iceland)
Otto Donald Rogers
(Canadian, 1935–2019)
Holy Land Memory
1981
Acrylic on canvas
Framed: 69 × 69 in. (175.3 × 175.3 cm)
Executed in 1981, Holy Land Memory is a monumental masterwork by Otto Donald Rogers, measuring nearly six feet square. The painting exemplifies Rogers’ unique synthesis of Western Canadian Prairie Modernism, Color Field abstraction, and spiritual contemplation. Divided horizontally across a low horizon line, the composition features vast, luminous fields of warm ochre, cream, and sand tones, anchored by floating dark geometric forms and gestural charcoal accents. The subtle, glowing horizon—accented with bars of deep forest green and terracotta—evokes a sense of infinite spatial depth and meditative stillness.
The title Holy Land Memory refers directly to Rogers’ profound spiritual and visual relationship with Haifa, Israel, home of the Bahá'í World Centre. A devout follower of the Bahá'í Faith since 1960, Rogers made frequent pilgrimages to the Holy Land throughout the 1970s and 1980s before eventually relocating there in 1988 to serve on the International Teaching Centre. In this painting, the vast, light-filled atmosphere of the Canadian prairies merges seamlessly with the ancient, sacred topography of the Mediterranean, embodying the Bahá'í principle of spiritual unity and cosmic order.
Renowned art critic Clement Greenberg famously praised Rogers as "an artist of amazing talent, worthy of an international reputation." As a longtime professor and Head of the Art Department at the University of Saskatchewan, Rogers was instrumental in sustaining the influential Emma Lake Artists' Workshops alongside modern masters like Barnett Newman and Jules Olitski. Large-scale, museum-tier canvases of this magnitude from his peak 1980s period represent the absolute pinnacle of his artistic legacy.
Major Accolades & Recognition:
Member, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (R.C.A.)
Head of the Department of Art and Art History, University of Saskatchewan (1973–1988)
Key Organizer & Participant, Emma Lake Artists' Workshops
Served ten years on the International Teaching Centre at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel (1988–1998)
Selected Permanent Collections:
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto, ON)
Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal / Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal, QC)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, MA)
Museum of Contemporary Art / MACBA (Barcelona, Spain)
Remai Modern / Mendel Art Gallery (Saskatoon, SK)
MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina, SK)
National Gallery of Iceland (Reykjavík, Iceland)
