ECOBAGS.COM is proud to share the work of John A. Urbain in our featured Art on Canvas™ series. John chose this acrylic and collage painting, a private piece previously seen only by friends and family, to adorn a special edition of our ECOBAGS^® Canvas Tote Bag. This project, intended to bring his art to a wider audience on the new medium of canvas, was John’s last project A portion of this bag's sales will be donated to
Paul Newman's non-profit organization, Hole in the Wall Gang Camps.

John Urbain's Website

1920 - 2009

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ABOUT JOHN
Born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1920, John Urbain arrived in the United States with his parents at age 2 and settled in Detroit. Recognized for his artistic talent at an early age, he attended Cass Technical School in Detroit where he focused on art. In 1940, he was drafted into the army, sent to Fort Custer in Battle Creed, Michigan, and assigned to the Army Illustrators. His studies then continued at Black Mountain College of North Carolina where he studied with Josef Albers, M.C. Richards and Max Dehn and met his future wife Elaine Schmidt. John and Elaine moved to Paris where he studied at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and the Academie Julien.

After returning to the US in 1953, John became art director for Philip Morris Company and increased his presence as an artist, contributing to the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the National Museum of Art, the Detroit, Houston and North Carolina Museums of Art, and numerous private collections and galleries in the United States and abroad.

In 1969, John and Elaine built a very special summer home on Block Island, Rhode Island. Its scenery, the mists, the rocks and the sea were inspiration for many of the collage works that had become John’s primary means of expression. This Art on Canvas™ project was his final artistic endeavor before he passed away in April 2009.

Residency
• Born in Brussels, Belgium, 1920
• Lived in Detroit, MI, 1922-1941
• U. S. Army, 1941-1945
• Lived in Philadelphia, PA, 1947-1950
• Lived in Paris, France, 1950-1952
• Lived in New York, NY 1953-present

Education
• Academie de la Grand Chaumier, Paris.
• Academie Julien, Paris
• Black Mountain College, NC: studied with professor Josef Albers
• U.S. Army: Fort Custer Army Group
• Cass Technical School, Detroit MI
• Society of Arts of Crafts, Detroit, MI

About the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp
Founded in 1988 by Paul Newman, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, Connecticut is a nonprofit, residential summer camp and year-round center serving children and their families coping with cancer and other serious illnesses and conditions. Through Camp programs, year-round outreach to hospitals and clinics, and ongoing services for children, families and caregivers, the Camp serves more than 15,000 annually. All of the Camp's services are provided free of charge.