"I don't dream about my art and I don't believe in luck, I believe in hard work and actually working at it."
Christian Corbet
Part I
Christian Corbet was born in South Western Ontario on 31st, January. He was born into a family of rich ancestry for whom immersed themselves in horticulture, quarrying, theatre and fine arts. The Corbet family was highly respected in Guernsey, Channel Islands, for their granite quarries for which they owned namely the Catelain and Corvee sites. They were also noted as growers of melons, tomatoes and flowers. The quarries were owned by Jean Thomas Corbet and sons. At one point the Corbet family owned a sizeable amount of land in the Vale. Jean Thomas Corbet, a rather private man for most of his life, was also one of the Founding Members of the Rotary Club of Guernsey in 1923 making it the first Rotary Club in the Channel Islands. He was 87 at the time he helped found the organization. The Corbet family plots is noted for being made of fine Italian marble and inserted with lead lettering all of which is uniquely and completely worded in French.
"Jean Thomas Corbet, 1836 - 1926"
© 2009 Christian Corbet
One of Christian's cousins, Denys Corbet (1826-1909), was a noted Guernsey French poet and painter. Also a school master, farmer and engraver, Denys Corbet made several contributions of note in his writings with his two chief works being Les Feuilles de la Foret (The Leaves of the Forest) and Les Chants du Drain Rimeux (The Songs of the last Rhymster). This noted cousin of Christian's firmly believed that the unique local French language was fading and made grand efforts to revive it for posterity. Today Denys Corbet's poetry is receiving a new appreciation. In May 2009 a special centenary exhibition honouring the life and work of the poet and painter was held at the Forest Douzaine. For this special occasion Christian is creating a portrait painting, fine art medallion and a bust of Denys Corbet all which were placed into permanent public institutions to honour Denys Corbet.
"Poet and Painter, Denys Corbet, Self Portrait" Perm. Coll.
© 2009 Guernsey Museum & Galleries
On 11th July 1921, King George, Queen Mary and Princess Mary toured the impressive vineries at "La Landes" owned by Christian's 2nd great grand aunt Julia Louise Corbet and her husband the note grower Henry Bichard. The vinery, which with the farming and quarrying land, measured an expansive 98 vergees 34.5 perches encompassing a vast area of the Vale. It was here that the first glass house was built in Guernsey in 1872. The estate not only included greenhouses for tomatoes and other fruit, but also fields containing brilliant flowers and most importantly several quarries to provide the water they needed to grow. Christian's family owned The Fruit Export Company and became major shareholders in that company and eventually in Blue Diamond.
"Royal Visit to the La Lande Vineries, 1921 by King George, Queen Mary and Princess Mary."
William Corbet was well known both in London's Covent Garden and Guernsey Island as the "Melon King", having produced some of the finest crops of melons to be exported to Great Britain. William became a founding member of the Guernsey Grower's Association, but one of his greatest humanitarian contributions to the island was during World War II when Guernsey was occupied by the Nazis. William ensured that much of his crops were distributed to the Guerns. Today, William Corbet and his contributions are recognized in a bronze medallion in the permanent collection of the Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery.
Wilfred Corbet, OBE (Order of the British Empire) a cousin to Christian was well-known in Guernsey as a Jurat for the Royal Court. He was also the benefactor of the Guernsey Football Club having donated the land and club house in 1932.
William J. Corbet, a sea pilot and cousin to Christian, made his mark in history during WWII when Guernsey was occupied by the Germans. William J. orchestrated and managed to escape the island by putting away small quantities of petrol fuel weekly. He escaped with seven other family members and friends on Saturday 14th August at about 3:30PM on a misty day along the Bordeaux way in an 18 foot fishing boat that he owned. It was a moonlight night and they saw nothing until in mid-Channel when suddenly they saw two or three German E Boats about 3/4 mile eastern of them. Luckily they were not spotted until they arrived off Start Point when a British mine-sweeper came alongside of them and took them to Dartmouth, England. These were the only people to successfully escape the island during it's occupation.
"Corbet Rock" located in The Swinge off the coast of Alderney, Channel Islands is an ancient set of high pinnacled rocks that have been named after the Corbet Family.
Curator Matt Harvey of the Guernsey Museum inspects with Christian Corbet William J. Corbet's written account of his brave escape from German occupied Guernsey during WWII.
With such strong roots and history on the island the Corbet's legacy can still be felt to this very day. In 2006 Christian visited Guernsey to trace his roots and meet numerous relatives. In 2007 Christian donated his impressive collection of Guernsey Pottery to the Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery. Also in 2007 Christian had a solo exhibition at his ancestral church, S. Michel du Valle (Vale Church) with what is believed to be the first time the ancient building of worship was used for such an event. 100% of all sales made during the exhibition benefitted the Vale parish. This event was opened by the Hon. Bailiff of Guernsey, Geoffrey Rowland and the Vice Dean of Guernsey The Reverend Father Kevin Northover SSC CMP. Honours bestowed onto Christian in his 2007 visit to the island included being made an honourary Campanologist at the Vale Church, a special choral by the Guernsey Choral and Orchestral Society, and a moving Quarter Peal with the church bells being rung 45 minutes consecutively.
Part II
The Gould family on Christian's paternal side have roots going back to Wales, England and Ireland. Many of his ancestors were actors and musicians in the United Kingdom. Christian's 3rd great grandfather Gould was the designer and stone mason who erected the base for the famous "Cleopatra's Needle" in London, England. His great grandfather Frederick James Gould was in vaudeville and as a singer was honoured to perform the national anthem "God Save the King" during a procession of His Majesty King George V in front of Southwark Public Library. His great great grandmother Charlotte Gould and great great aunt Florence Philbrook (nee Gould) were both entertainers namely Charlotte a pianist and aunt a singer/comedienne respectively who traveled across England performing. His great uncle John Gould was an artist in his own right who was once asked to join the team of artists with Walt Disney. John Gould's son Terry Gould, Christian's second cousin, was to go on to study fine arts and commercial design at the Ontario College of Art later creating the CFL logo among other notable commercial designs that are still in use today.
Press photo of Florence Gould, singer and comedienne.
Christian's grandfather on his maternal side of the family Leonard Stevens was an accomplished musician most notably for being a concert violinist who was also fluent in twelve other instruments. Christian himself was taught to play the violin by his grandfather.
By the early age of 3 Christian was exemplifying a strong ability and inclination towards drawing and creating figures that were very well advanced for his age. Seen below are four early examples of Corbet's pen drawings from age 3 years. An assessment in 1996 by L. Korhonen, Hon. BA, OT, and an early childhood specialist stated that "These early drawings by Christian Cardell Corbet at age 3 years proves that the he had very strong visual and motor skills for his age. In fact there is a definite sign from most children of the same age category to not even remotely be capable of drawing a complete box with definite lines creating any such image even that of a face until around their fifth year." Ref. "The Developmental Test of Visual, Motor and Integration".
His paternal grandparents fostered Christian's interest in drawing with his grandfather teaching him how to create commercial design on a grand scale. By the age of fourteen Christian was stricken with acute Asthma and found himself unable to participate in physical sports or activities. Christian's Grandma-ma, whom he was exceptionally close to, encouraged her grandson to continue practicing his fine art and by the age of 15 Christian received his first commercial commission for a major leading restaurant chain. By this time Corbet was living with his grandparents due to an abusive home life that his parents subjected him to. His escape came when neighbors and other family complained as to the poor treatment Christian was receiving by his mother and father. His escape to utter happiness and peace came when his Grandma-ma and Grandpa Corbet removed their grandson from his childhood home and insisted that he live with them on a permanent basis. This was to be the beginning of a very exciting and fruitful time for the budding young artist.
In 1987 Christian turned his interests to modeling and worked part time as a runway and layout model for many top designers. In 1989 Christian retired from his modeling career due to the ill health of his grandfather and spent the next several months spending precious time with him. In 1991 Christian enrolled at the University of Guelph where he studied under artist June Clark-Greenburg and commenced sculpture and painting. Still theatre was his primary interest and he had the great fortune to have the renowned Canadian playwright Judith Thompson as his professor. Three years later Christian moved to British Columbia to commence his art career which was to be a major turning point in his life.
In January of 1994 Christian set up his first studio in Vancouver and studied the works of many great local artists such as Jack Shadbolt and Bill Reid. Still Christian was caught between two and three dimensional art and found both disciplines equally enticing. Still Christian went on to practice painting with an emphasis on landscapes exploring the many influences that Western Canada had made upon him. By early 1995 Christian realized that it was not the landscape that made Canada what is but the people who inhabit the land. Christian then turned his talents to the portrait. While Christian was gearing his career towards portraiture he maintained an interest in abstract and non-objective art and created a number of works that are now in the permanent collections, both public and private around the world.
"October Pools" mixed media on wooden crate top, 1994.
International success was achieved in the spring of 1995 when Christian's oil portrait painting entitled: "Elizabeth Holding Her Ribbon" was acquired by the late HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother . On 4th July of that year Christian accepted an invitation to present the painting at Clarence House in London, the private residence of the Queen Mother. The visit to Clarence House with Christian's cousin Susan Spraget led a private tour of the Queen Mother's important collection of art work, antiques and other objects d'art. The success of this painting drew great attention to the artist at an international level. It is generally accepted today that Christian was the inspirational point for the renaissance of portrait art in Canada.
"Elizabeth Holding Her Ribbon", 16 x 20" oil on canvas, 1995.
"Elizabeth Holding Her Ribbon" Royal presentation to Captain Sir Alastair Aird, GCVO Clarence House, London, England, 1995
Captain Sir Alastair Aird, GCVO and Corbet's cousin Susan Spraget holding "Elizabeth Holding Her Ribbon", Clarence House, 1995
At the same time Christian was undertaking a private study on the history of the portrait in Canada and while doing so realized that Canada had a strong need for a professional establishment to be created in order to promote portraiture. And on March 7th, 1996 on the occasion of his dear Grandma-ma Corbet's birthday The Canadian Portrait Academy was founded. Within a month many of Canada's leading portrait artists joined the Academy and today it stands as an important centre for portrait art profiling Canadian and international artists.
In 1996 Christian began his private study with the acclaimed Canadian portrait artist the late Dr. Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook, CM (1913-2009) which continued until 2003. Since that time Christian has aided in assisting Holbrook with getting some of her artwork inducted in important collections. One such portrait sculpture was a small bronze bust of HM Queen Elizabeth II, 1998 that was acquired by the Queen and placed into the Royal Collection. By mid 1998 Christian had curated his first two exhibitions in Vancouver with the most important being the First Annual Exhibition of The Canadian Portrait Academy which was opened by a formal letter from Governor General Romeo Leblanc and praised by noted art historian and author Joan Murray.
Christian Cardell Corbet
With Christian's career advancing at an ever increasing rate it was determined that he would succeed even more in his career if he were to move back to Ontario and set up his studio there. Ontario has always been the mecca for the arts in Canada and with it's close proximity to Europe Christian was sure to gain even more recognition. The move has proved to be exceptionally successful and Corbet has found himself and his art being profiled at the international level. The popularity of Christian's art medals have led to his work being collected by major national museums and galleries in both North America and Europe including the Numismatic Museum Athens, Greece for which Christian is the first Canadian artist to have an art medal inducted into their permanent collection.
Dame Jane Goodall CBE and Christian Corbet.
The new millennium has met Christian, as it should to all Aquarians, with great recognition and successful new accomplishments. Christian now regularly exhibits in Europe and has had his name inducted into numerous journals. His career can be cited in over 20 reference publications worldwide. Christian now divides his time painting, sculpting, writing and doing philanthropic work aiding new and upcoming Canadian artists and international charities.
Christian is currently dividing his time as "Forensic Artist in Residence" for the University of Western Ontario working on historical/anthropological facial reconstructions of Egyptian mummies and other important subjects based on new high technology using CT and laser scans.
In 2009 Christian is also having two solo exhibitions both in Canada and in the Channel Islands as well as curating a special exhibition on the work of his late mentor Dr. Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook. Also in 2009 Christian's 1998 portrait of author Margaret Atwood will appear on the front cover of a book published by a British university. He is also exhibiting an example of his textile art at the Bradford Industrial Museum, England in March. All this to include research, writing, lecturing and continuing to create his own unique fine art.