Biography of ARTHUR LISMER
LISMER, Arthur RCA, CGP, CSPWC, OSA, SGA (1885-1969). Born in Sheffield, England, Lismer studied evenings at the Sheffield School of Art (1898-1905); and at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, Antwerp, Belgium (1906-07). After coming to Toronto in 1911, he worked as an illustrator for Grip Limited (1911-12) before becoming an official war artist for the Canadian War Memorials in Halifax (1918-1919). He travelled and painted extensively across Canada including Algoma (1920), Georgian Bay (1913) and Algonquin Park (1914) in Ontario; Gaspé in Quebec; Newfoundland; Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; the Rocky Mountains in Alberta; and Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Working in oil, watercolour, gouache, charcoal, pencil, ink, etching and linoleum engraving, he is best known for his landscapes but also painted figure studies. His work was strongly influenced by the Impressionists after 1913 and Post-Impressionists. He was influential as a teacher and in children’s art education. He held several positions including Principal of the Victoria School of Art and Design, Halifax (1916-1919); Vice-Principal of the Ontario College of Art, Toronto (1919-1927); educational supervisor at the Art Gallery of Ontario (1927-1936); and Principal of the school of the MMFA (1940-67). His work as an art educator took him to France, England and South Africa (1933, 1936-37), Australia and New Zealand (1937), and New York City, Iowa, Massachusetts and New Jersey (1938-39). Lismer believed in the importance of art in daily life. In 1920 he became one of the original members of the Group of Seven. He received an honorary doctorate from Dalhousie University in 1941 and from McGill University in 1963, and was the recipient of an RCA medal. He died in Montreal. He exhibited at the RCA between 1912-1961, at the AAM/MMFA between 1941-1968, and a retrospective exhibition was held the year of his death at the NGC. His work is represented in all major Canadian collections including those of the AGO, CWM, EAG, GM, MCMC, MMFA, NGC and WAG.
Biography courtesy of The Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction: Volume II: G-L
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