James Williamson Galloway "Jock" Macdonald (1897-1960) was a pivotal figure in the development of abstract art in Canada. Born in Thurso, Scotland, Macdonald began his career as a designer before moving to Canada in 1926 to teach at the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts. Influenced by the Group of Seven and Emily Carr, his early work focused on landscape painting. However, Macdonald’s artistic journey led him to explore abstraction, becoming a key figure in Canadian modernism.

Macdonald co-founded the British Columbia College of Arts and played a significant role in establishing the Calgary Group in 1947. His dedication to abstract art deepened when he became a founding member of Painters Eleven in Toronto. Through his teaching positions at the Ontario College of Art and other institutions, he influenced a new generation of artists, promoting avant-garde techniques like automatism. Macdonald’s contributions to abstract painting were recognized with a retrospective at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1960, securing his place as a pioneer of Canadian abstract art.