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London, August 2016

On a six-acre site in the heart of London, England, there once stood a medieval monastery. Built in 1381, it was visited by Thomas More for spiritual recuperation, employed by Henry VIII to store his hunting equipment, and demolished by Sir Edward North in 1545 so that he could transform it into a luxurious mansion house, known today as the Charterhouse. Used by Queen Elizabeth I in 1558 to prepare for her coronation, 458 years later it was the site of a solo exhibition by one of Canada’s best-known artists, Charles Pachter.

On opening night, August 18, 2016, aristocrats and commoners, academics and art lovers alike, gathered in the Charterhouse’s chapel to hear speeches celebrating Pachter’s career by Hal Jackman, Ontario’s former lieutenant-governor; John Fraser, the former Master of Massey College in Toronto; and Katerina Atanassova, curator of Canadian Art at Ottawa’s National Gallery. The recipient of three honorary doctorates, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a member of the Order of Ontario, Charles has met the queen and had a major exhibition of his work in London, England. At age seventy-four, Charles Pachter has had quite a journey.