About Oscar Cahen

Equally influential as an avant-garde painter and as a commercial illustrator, Oscar Cahén’s (1916–1956) pictures and covers for magazines helped shape Canadians’ ideas about the world around them, including social and political issues.

About His Inspiration

“Oscar Cahén was a painter known for his vibrant and abstract designs and paintings. His mural for the staff lounge and cafeteria at the Imperial Oil executive office in Toronto fascinated me. To make it, Cahén used an abstract style of art, consisting of colourful shapes and strokes in a cohesive and enthusiastic pattern. His mural brought life to the once-grey atmosphere, turning it into a room that popped with beaming colours. I wanted to incorporate these in my digital artwork, to explore the concept of death. The man and the skull in my drawing are looking away from the viewer, surrounded by shapes and bright colours symbolizing life and nature. While they do not evoke decay, these elements, melded together, reinforce the idea of bringing a bright change to a once sombre concept.”

–Lana Yousef (Grade 9, Silverthorn Collegiate Institute, Etobicoke, Ontario)