Ernest Lindner

Ernst Freidrich Lindner
Ernest Lindner and wife Bodil in December 1942
Born	(1897-05-01)1 May 1897 Vienna, Austria
Died	4 November 1988(1988-11-04) (aged 91) Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Nationality	Austrian, Canadian
Occupation	Painter
Known for	Woodland scenes

Ernst Freidrich Lindner (1 May 1897 – 4 November 1988) was an Austrian-born Canadian painter. He moved with his parents to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 1926, where became a self-taught commercial artist. He was soon recognized locally and then nationally. He was active in several artistic organizations. He is known for his meticulous watercolors of natural woodlands depicting the cycle of decay and regeneration.

Ernst Freidrich Lindner was born on 1 May 1897 in Vienna, Austria. He was the thirteenth child of a German family. His father ran a business that made stylish canes and parasol handles, and employed almost 300 craftsmen. Ernst caught diphtheria as a child of seven, and drew and painted during his long convalescence. During World War I (1914–1918) Lindner volunteered in 1915 to join a mountaineer regiment of the Austrian army. He ended up in the Air Force, where he served as a flight lieutenant. He was wounded, but recovered and was back in service before the end of the war. After the war he worked as a bank clerk. He also helped in the family firm.

In 1926 Lindner immigrated to Canada with his parents, who settled in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At first Lindner found work as a farm laborer. He attended night classes at the University of Saskatchewan under Augustus Kenderdine. He became a freelance commercial artist and illustrator, largely self-taught. He had become recognized as an artist in Saskatchewan by 1931, and by 1933 was starting to exhibit in eastern Canada. Lindner started to teach at the Saskatoon Technical Collegiate in 1931, first giving a night course and then becoming a full-time instructor. He headed the Art Department at the Collegiate from 1936 until 1962.

Lindner was very active in the arts community. He started a weekly discussion group called "Saturday Nights" that met in the private homes of local artists, often in his own home. He was a member of the Prospectors, the first society of professional artists in the province. He became president of the Saskatoon Art Association. When the Federation of Canadian Artists was formed in 1941 Lindner was made responsible for the Saskatchewan region. He was one of the first members of the Saskatchewan Arts Board.

It was through the influence of Lindner and Kenderdine that the University of Saskatchewan began to run its annual Emma Lake Artist's Workshops. Lindner participated in these workshops in 1955–57, 1960–64 and 1966. Some of the prominent Modernist painters of New York were guests at the Emma Lake Workshops in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and influenced Lindner's style. The formalist Jules Olitski, known for his color-field abstractions, was a significant influence. In 1959 Lindner returned to Vienna and attended the Akademie der Angewandten Kunst, where he took a master's course in etching and stone lithography.