Arthur Lismer, CC

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

 (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-born Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 painter and member of the Group of Seven

Group of Seven (artists)

The Group of Seven, sometimes known as the Algonquin school, were a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920-1933, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael , Lawren Harris , A. Y. Jackson , Franz Johnston , Arthur Lismer , J. E. H. MacDonald , and Frederick Varley...

.
At age 13 he apprenticed at a photo-engraving company. He was awarded a scholarship, and used this time to take evening classes at the Sheffield School of Arts from 1898 until 1905. In 1905, he moved to Antwerp, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, where he studied art at the Academie Royale.

Lismer immigrated to Canada in 1911, settled in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario and took a job with Grip Ltd.

Grip Ltd.

Grip was the name of the Toronto, Ontario design firm that was home to many of Canada's premier designers and painters during the first half of the 20th century....

 - a satirical magazine.
Lismer came to the attention of lord who arranged for him to be commissioned as an " an official war artist." His best known work from the war years depicted what he observed and learned about in Halifax, Nova Scotia: Mine sweeping, convoying, patrolling and harbor defense.
The collaboration of four artists at Grip gradually evolved into the "Group of Seven", whose work was intended to contribute to the process of giving Canada a distinctive national voice in painting.