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1975/76	In 1975 the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ken's hometown, commissions him to create a painting for its new Civic Centre. The only requested criteria is for it to relate visually to the Sault. Ken creates a major image of the Sault Locks, opening to allow passage of a lake freighter. It's titled Opening the Gates.
	Ken is selected to design a set of Canadian Olympic Coins for the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
	Ken is informed that he has been elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
	Ken is named the first recipient of the 'R. Tait McKenzie Chair for Sport' by the National Centre of Sports and Recreation in Ottawa. The result is his creation of six major watercolour studies of Olympic athletes, with each defining a specific Olympic discipline. Two years later (1978) they will be published as a set of prints together with a book entitled Danby: Images of Sport. One man exhibitions are presented in Vancouver, Hamilton, Toronto and Sault Ste. Marie.
	In March of 1976, a special exhibition is held at Gallery Moos to present the resulting six major watercolours and a collection of studies that resulted from Ken's working with some of the Canada's finest athletes. The December exhibition at Gallery Moos includes a special limited edition portfolio of four original Olympic Serigraphs, reflecting Ken's continued enthusiasm for his recent themes.
	On October 24, 1976, The Sunday New York Times devotes an entire page to Ken's Olympic Serigraphs.
	A best-selling book entitled Ken Danby, is published by Clarke-Irwin, Toronto. Written by Paul Duval, one of Canada's most important art critics, it documents the artist's career to date.
1977	Ken is commissioned by the City of Guelph to create a work in celebration of the city's 150th Anniversary. He selects the carousel in the city's park as a subject and includes his young son, Ryan. The result is an eloquent watercolour, appropriately titled Guelph Carousel. Maclean's, Canada's weekly news magazine, introduces a feature interview with Ken by proclaiming, "At 37, Canadian artist, Ken Danby, has established himself as a master of realist painting, with an international stature that regularly brings his dealer requests from New York, London, and European Capitals." Ken presents a one-man exhibition at the deVooght Gallery in Vancouver. A review in the Vancouver Province newspaper declares, "Ken Danby's art is more than technically precise. Without question, he is the most talented image-maker in Canada."   For a number of weeks Ken travels across Canada on book signing and interview tours, where he is rewarded by line-ups of fans who wait patiently to ask questions and have books signed.
1978	Ken is awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal by the Government of Canada. With the publication of Danby: Images of Sport, Ken once again travels across the country for media interviews and book signings.
	Ken's exhibition at Gallery Moos includes an unusual egg tempera that he has been working on for some time - and has finally been able to complete - titled Charter.
1979/80	In 1979, for the first time, Ken's regular exhibition at Gallery Moos consists only of watercolours - all of which are visual explorations of the rural landscape within a short radius of his studio and home. The exhibition catalogue essay written by Dr. Theodore Heinrich, Professor of Art History at York University, concludes with, "We are the witnesses to the appearance of a stage of maturity that has given new voice, an impressive authority, to the art of Ken Danby."   Ken is commissioned by The Franklin Mint in Pennsylvania, to create four original, full colour, personally signed, lithograph prints which are published sequentially and released world-wide. The first print, Path to the Meadow breaks all print sale records for the mint, with advance subscribed sales of 10,072!   In 1980 Ken exhibits at the Bayard Gallery in New York. A poster is created for the exhibition featuring a watercolour, Shadows Under the Bridge.
1981	The National Hockey League commissions Ken to create a portrait of Gordie Howe, which is presented to him at his retirement game in Hartford, Connecticut. Weeks earlier, at his home near Hartford, Gordie posed for Ken for this watercolour study. At the Crease is featured in the major exhibition, 'Champions of American Sport', which is first presented at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, in Washington D.C., and then travels to Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Ken is invited to the White House, and meets President Ronald Reagan.
	Ken commemorates Canadian hero, Terry Fox, with a multiple portrait in watercolour, and donates it in his memory to the people of Canada. On the first anniversary of Terry's passing, it is presented to the Governor General, Ed Schreyer, at centre ice of the Montreal Forum prior to the first game of the Canada-Russia hockey series of 1981.
1982	Ken is named Honourary Chairman of UNICEF, Ontario Greeting Card Campaign. He creates a watercolour titled Child in Winter which becomes a best selling UNICEF card and a special poster. The watercolour is unveiled in Ottawa at a Rideau Hall reception hosted by Lily Shreyer, wife of the Governor General of Canada. Ken brings his youngest son and model, Noah, to the event.
1983	Ken is asked to create a major painting of Canada 1, the Canadian 12 metre yacht challenge in 1983's America's Cup Race, plus limited edition prints of Canada 1 as a fundraiser for the campaign.
	Many weeks are spent in Newport, Rhode Island throughout the spring and summer with Ken and Gillian enjoying first-hand opportunities to observe the 12 metre yachts throughout their trial runs and the advance competitions prior to the America's Cup finals in September.
	Ken presents an exhibition of watercolour studies of many of the yachts in action at The America's Cup Gallery, in Newport.
1984	Winter Olympics - Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Ken is invited by CTV Television Network to travel to Sarajevo and create sketches and studies at the Olympic events - with each sketch televised across Canada during daily interviews. Following the Olympics, the originals are auctioned on Wide World of Sports, with the proceeds benefitting Canadian Amateur Sport.
	Ken Danby: The New Decade is published by Stoddart Publishing, Toronto. Again written by art critic Paul Duval (see 1976 for prior book), it covers the latest ten years of the artist's work.

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