Arthur Lismer

“An understanding of psychology, a touch for the maternal, and a capacity for looking at the world through the eyes of a child  these are the marks of good guides and teachers.” (Arthur Lismer, 1948)

Arthur Lismer (1885-1969) emigrated from Sheffield, England to Toronto, Ontario, in 1911.  Soon after, through his employment at Grip Ltd., he would meet Tom Thomson and other artists that would comprise the Group of Seven. In the years leading up to 1920, Lismer often joined these artists on sketching trips to Algonquin Park and Georgian Bay, Ontario. An active promoter of the Group of Seven and the author of many articles on Canadian art, Lismer continued to paint throughout his lifetime. He was deeply involved in arts education first as principal of the Victoria School of Art and Design in Halifax and later in Montreal he taught at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from 1941 to 1967. Lismer was made a Companion of the Order of Canada is buried in the small cemetery on the McMichael gallery grounds with five of the original Group of Seven.