Researching Jack Stewart

Stewart was regarded as the hardest hitting defenceman of his time, a reputation that earned him his nickname. His style of play routinely resulted in injuries and scars; he defied expectations by returning to the game after suffering a ruptured disc in his back and later a fractured skull. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964, and is also honoured by the Manitoba Hockey and Sports Halls of Fame.

Stewart moved to New York City in 1949. His first solo painting exhibit was in 1950 at the George Binet Gallery. During the 1950s he showed with Charles Egan, Joseph Grippi, and Richard Waddell. During that time he also founded the Stewart-Marean Gallery and The Stewart Studio, which was established for the design and execution of his commissioned mosaic furnishings and murals. Many of his furniture pieces were featured in Furniture Forum. He was an accomplished educator, art administrator, and the first to photograph and document the New York City Subway graffiti movement, from its beginning, in his definitive work Graffiti Kings: New York City Mass Transit Art of the 1970s.

Stewart was born in Perth to Isabella (née Carmichael) and Alexander Stewart. He attended Scotch College, but left school at the age of 15 to help manage the family farm at Bruce Rock. Stewart took over the farm completely in 1939. He was prominent in local agricultural circles, and served on the Bruce Rock Shire Council from 1946 to 1963, including as shire president from 1952. Stewart first stood for parliament at the 1965 state election, but lost to the sitting Labor member, Lionel Kelly. He recontested Merredin-Yilgarn in 1968, following Kelly's retirement, and was elected. Stewart's time in parliament was short-lived, however, as he was defeated by Labor's Jim Brown at the 1971 election. He retired to Perth in 1977, and died there in November 1998, aged 86. He had married Isobel Lillian Haldane in 1944, with whom he had two children.