Art Gallery of Greater Victoria to show film on renowned Vancouver Island artist

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) has announced they will be playing a film on the life of a renowned Vancouver Island artist through the summer.  

The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes is a film covering the life and art of the titular artist that was directed by Vancouver filmmaker Jenn Strom. 

Strom’s subject, Hughes, was born in North Vancouver in 1913, but was raised primarily in Nanaimo. 

He went to art school in Vancouver and graduated during the Depression in 1933. After graduating, he struggled financially and eventually joined the war effort in 1943, serving as one of Canada’s only official Second World War artists. 

After the war, he moved back to Vancouver Island and took up residence in Shawnigan Lake before moving to Duncan for the latter days of his life. 

Hughes passed away in Duncan in 2007 at 93-years-old. 

During his career, Hughes painted hundreds of pieces that captured the landscapes of British Columbia, from coastal villages to the Rocky Mountains, all captured in vivid dreamlike detail. 

Strom says that she knew there would be an audience for a film on Hughes, his art, his life and his legacy, because of his strong BC roots and his love for depicting the province’s splendor. 

“People really love his work because it’s about their home and it seemed like a great way to start conversations about BC that would unite people a bit in ‘love-of-place,’” Strom told Victoria Buzz. 

“[The film] covers his life from childhood, through until his death. He had quite an interesting life.”

Hughes never got to see the fruits of his labour during his lifetime and made only a modest living from his artwork, but after his death, a painting titled Coastal Boats Near Sidney, BC, sold for over $5,700,000 at auction in Toronto. 

That auction made Hughes’ painting the fourth most expensive Canadian work of art sold at auction. 

Following this record-setting sale, another Hughes painting, Entrance to Howe Sound, sold for more than $4,800,000 at auction in November 2025.

Currently, the AGGV has a collection of 20 pieces by Hughes, including Steamer at the Old Wharf, Nanaimo (1958).  

The film, The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes, will be played continuously during the AGGV’s open hours from June 20th through until September 6th.