The Magic Realismof Toller Cranston - theHumm December 2025

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

The spotlight is back on Canadian icon Toller Cranston, but this time it is brilliantly focused on Toller’s amazing, fiercely original “Magic Realism” art. This is the second time his older sister (and Arnprior resident) Phillippa Cranston Baran is committed to ensuring that “Canadians remember Toller as a creative genius, who worked like a demon, chased his destiny without fear, and continues to inspire others to dream big.”

On January 25, Phillippa is celebrating her brother’s fantastic art with the launch of her beautiful coffee table art book tribute. Titled Toller Cranston: Artistic Impressions, it “explores a stunning body of work through the perspectives of the artist who created the work, the gallerists who represented the work, the collectors who fell in love with the work, and the sister who bought for $15 the first piece he ever sold — a pen and ink drawing of a dead chicken that he did at age fifteen.”

Her new book does more than that. It gladdens the heart. Phillippa succeeds in her mission. Her book makes us even happier and prouder than we already are to be Canadian. Most of us remember Toller primarily as an outrageously talented and irrepressible world figure skating champion. In addition to being six-time Canadian champion and 1976 Olympic bronze medalist, he single-footedly* revolutionized men’s skating. He coached, choreographed, designed costumes, conceived and produced and starred in ice shows and television spectaculars.

Many of us, however, are not as aware of his extraordinary life and accomplishments as an artist. Phillippa’s gorgeous presentation of Toller’s paintings is interspersed with his quotes, and this one seems particularly revealing of his ambition: “Da Vinci was never the figure skating champion of Italy.” After feasting your eyes on Toller’s art, you may be persuaded that this Canadian icon is indeed the Da Vinci of the figure skating world.

Toller was absolutely passionate about his painting. He stated it very succinctly: “We’re all born with an inclination in the genes about who we are and what we’re supposed to do. It’s in the DNA. I had full knowledge as to what my destiny was from a very early age. I was a painter.” He always painted, and he brought the same discipline, work ethic, conviction and creativity to his art that brought him fame as a skater. Long before he retired from his varied skating activities, his paintings were showing up in homes and galleries around the world.

He painted like he skated — flamboyantly, brilliantly, unrestrainedly; the canvases are instantly recognizable as Toller’s. He wrote, “As an artist, I don’t question images or themes. I never question my hand. I never doubt it. It starts and that’s what comes out.” His art off the ice was his main source of income throughout his life. He painted incessantly, producing work for more than 300 exhibitions in galleries and shows around the world. It is estimated that he created more than 20,000 paintings, many of which are treasured possessions in the homes of people whose lives he touched. At the time of his death, he was planning a Canada-wide exhibition of his art, to be titled “A Terrifying Obsession.”

The further I read about his amazing life and astounding accomplishments, the more research I was enticed to do. It was an exciting journey, and we have his sister to thank for much of it. In our January 2024 issue, Humm editor Kris Riendeau interviewed Phillippa to report on the launch of her first book — Toller Cranston – Ice, Paint, Passion. It is an extraordinarily researched and heart-warming compendium of tributes and factual data, citing over 150 contributors and sources celebrating the life and unique gifts of her brother – “a creative genius.” I encourage you to find Kris’s article at thehumm.com . You will learn about the deep family connections to the Ottawa Valley, and the enormous challenges Phillippa faced when Toller dropped dead of a heart attack at the age of 65, intestate, at his fabulous estate property in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He spent the last 23 years of his life creating magnificent canvases there, and became a local treasure.

Toller authored four books, and they provoked a wide range of responses from critics. One wrote that Toller’s “… incisive, literate, shriek-aloud funny autobiographies present the artist far better than any tribute could.” My perusal found that they also reveal the wild demands and consequences of his creativity and perfectionism, the insecurities that plagued him, and his self-imposed emotional isolation. He deserves much better, and his talented sister has risen to the challenge with her two books celebrating her brother’s hard-won and fully deserved stature as a Canadian icon.

Phillippa Cranston Baran

…has a BA from Queens University and an MA in Film from UCLA. She is an award-winning writer, producer, former university film professor and for a few glorious years back in the day, a dairy goat farmer. Her 2025 biography, Toller Cranston, Ice, Paint, Passion won ten book awards in its first year.

Phillippa is also a competitive Duplicate Bridge player and holds the rank of Ruby Life Master. She lives in the historic family cottage on the Ottawa River near Arnprior.

Since her brother’s death in 2015, Phillippa has dedicated her life to celebrating “… a man who embodied, in every single thing he did, the values of courage, creativity, and expression.” She hopes that by getting to know the artist as a person, becoming more familiar with the influences and experiences that impacted his work, and gaining a better understanding of his thinking and attitudes, readers will have a richer, deeper, more complete experience with his artworks. She welcomes every opportunity to speak about her brother. Her coordinates are on the back of her Artist Trading Card at the top of this page.

January Book Launch

On Sunday, January 25, Phillippa Cranston Baran invites us all to the launch of her beautiful art book at historic O’Brien Theatre at 147 John Street N in Arnprior, to share her brother’s signature “Magic Realism” with her Ottawa Valley friends and neighbours. Admission is free. Her indefatigable brother strove to leave a mark on the world stage; Phillippa’s second tribute to him — Toller Cranston: Artistic Impressions — makes it absolutely clear that he was a champion in both of his artistic pursuits.

Copies of the book, brilliantly designed by Robert Hughes of Robert Hughes Design and Print in Arnprior, will be available for sale. Both books will soon be available from Amazon and local booksellers, as well as by order from the publisher at sutherlandhousebooks.com . For more information or to inquire about Toller Cranston original paintings, contact Donna Child at Donna Child Fine Art, Toronto by email at donnachildfineart@gmail.com .

*Sorry. Sometimes I just can’t help myself. And he used both feet…

Artist Trading Card

Who Phillippa Cranston Baran, on behalf of Toller Cranston

What Author: Toller Cranston: Artistic Impressions

Where phillippacranstonbaran.com ; phillippabaran@gmail.com ; TollerInternational.com

When Sunday, January 25th, 2pm, book Launch event at the O’Brien Theatre, 147 John St. N, Arnprior

Why “Moments after learning that Toller had died suddenly at his home in Mexico, I had a powerful realization that it was up to me to ensure that Canadians remember Toller as a creative genius, who worked like a demon, chased his destiny without fear, and continues to inspire others to dream big.”

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Support Perth’s Good Food Bank - theHumm December 2025

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The Magic Realismof Toller Cranston - theHumm December 2025