About

In 1957, world renowned wildlife artist Robert Bateman and spirited biologist Bristol Foster embarked on a global expedition in a Land Rover they called “The Grizzly Torque” – a journey that ignited a deep love of our planet and set in motion a powerful story of environmental activism though art and science.

The Art of Adventure is an inspiring and deeply human documentary about the extraordinary lifelong friendship between world renowned wildlife artist Robert Bateman and fearless biologist Bristol Foster. Through their epic 1957 journey around the world – armed with a 16mm camera and an artist’s brush – the film opens a vivid window onto a planet once wild and unscarred and a bond formed though curiosity, courage and love of nature.

At it’s heart the film weaves together nature, art and activism showing how two very different men fought to protect the natural world: one thought art, the other through science. Now in their 90’s Bob and Bristol still find sanctuary in nature. Their story is a moving reflection on legacy, mortality and the wisdom of our elders – and a reminder that humanity and nature are inseparable. The Art of Adventure invites us to listen, to learn and to embrace life with curiosity, courage and heart.

ALISON REID – DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Alison Reid is an award-winning Canadian filmmaker known for stories of adventure and exploration of the human spirit. After a groundbreaking career as a stunt performer and one of North America’s first female stunt coordinators, she founded Free Spirit Films to pursue bold, character-driven storytelling.

Her debut feature, the LGBTQ2+ comedy The Baby Formula, opened the Mannheim Heidelberg Film Festival in 2008 and screened world-wide. She went on to direct & produce the critically acclaimed feature documentary The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, which won multiple Best Film and Audience Awards and enjoyed a wide theatrical release across Canada and the United States. With positive reviews by The New York Times, The Washington Post, LA Times, Variety, and The Wrap, the film holds a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and continues to resonate with audiences worldwide.
Continuing her work spotlighting iconic, inspirational Canadians, Alison’s new feature documentary The Art of Adventure celebrates a transformative 1957 journey by wildlife artist Robert Bateman and biologist Bristol Foster. When not making films, Alison directs television.

ROBERT BATEMAN – ARTIST, NATURALIST

Robert Bateman was born in Toronto, earned a degree in geography from the University of Toronto, then taught high school for 20 years, including two years in Nigeria. He travelled around the world in 1957-58, increasing his appreciation of cultural and natural heritage. Since leaving teaching in 1976 to paint full-time, he has travelled widely with his artist/conservationist wife, Birgit, to many remote natural areas. The family moved to Salt Spring Island in 1985.

Bateman has been a keen artist and naturalist from his early days. He has always painted wildlife and nature, beginning with a representational style, moving through impressionism and cubism to abstract expressionism. In his early thirties he moved back to realism as a more suitable way to express the particularity of the planet. It is this style that has made him one of the foremost artists depicting the world of nature.

In the ‘70s and early ‘80s, Bateman’s work began to receive critical acclaim and to attract an enormous following. His work is in many public and private collections, and several art museums, including the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, WY. Bateman has had many one-man museum shows throughout North America, including an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC in 1987, that drew record-breaking crowds. The retrospective show, The Art of Robert Bateman, toured Canada and the USA for two years.

Books about his life and art have had sales of over 1,000,000 copies. He has also been the subject of several films and television programs. His honours, awards and honorary doctorates are numerous and include Officer of the Order of Canada. It is in honour of Bateman’s contribution to art, teaching and conservation that two schools and a community centre have been named after him; as well, he has been awarded 14 honorary doctorates.

His art reflects his commitment to ecology and preservation. Since the early 1960’s, he has been an active member of naturalist and conservation organizations, now on a global scale. He has become a spokesman for many environmental and preservation issues and has used his artwork and limited edition prints in fund-raising efforts that have provided millions of dollars for these worthy causes.
Robert Bateman is perceived by many to be one of the voices of reason and hope for healthy, rejuvenated and creative engagement with the natural world.

He says, “I can’t conceive of anything being more varied and rich and handsome than the planet earth. And its crowning beauty is the natural world. I want to soak it up, to understand it as well as I can, and to absorb it . . . and then I’d like to put it together and express it in my painting. This is the way I want to dedicate my life.”

BRISTOL FOSTER – BIOLOGIST, NATURALIST

Bristol Foster is a naturalist, conservation biologist and documentary filmmaker with a PhD in Ecology. He has over forty years of experience as an ecologist and educator. Bristol’s illustrious career has included Head of Wildlife Ecology Graduate Studies program at the University of Nairobi (Kenya), Director of the Royal British Columbia Museum and Director of the Provincial Ecological Reserves program.

Bristol graduated with a degree in biology from the University of Toronto and became enthralled by Arctic biology. He spent two summers studying the ecology of a rare lemming-like mammal for his master’s degree. Bristol then spent a year and a half traveling through Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia with wildlife artist Robert Bateman, before returning to Canada and completing his Ph.D.

His degree focused on the evolution of the native mammals of the Haidi Gwaii, an archipelago lying south of the panhandle of Alaska. Bristol then headed to Kenya for five years to lead a graduate student program in wildlife ecology, eventually writing, with a colleague, the definitive book on the giraffe. From Africa he returned to become Director of the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, B.C. After six years in this position, he became the Director of Ecological Reserves Program for the Province wherein over 100 areas have been set aside for research.

He then became ecological consultant, spending much of his time trying to protect the last remnants of temperate rainforest on the British Columbia coast and making TV documentaries all over the world.