Arthur Lismer
![]() Arthur Lismer 1885 - 1969 |
Born in England in 1885, Lismer attended the Sheffield School of Art from 1898 to 1905. After apprenticing with a photo-engraving company in Sheffield, he traveled to Antwerp in 1906 to study at the Académie royale des beaux arts. He came to Canada in 1911, settling in Toronto, working in the commercial art firm of Rapid Grip and Batten Company, along with fellow artists J.E.H. MacDonald, Franklin Carmichael and Tom Thomson. A member of the Group of Seven, his travels into the Ontario countryside to paint began with his first trip to Georgian Bay in 1913, and his first trip to Algonquin Park with Tom Thomson in 1914. Lismer returned many times to Georgian Bay, a landscape he had a passion for. He exhibited work from this area, most notably A September Gale, in the first Group of Seven exhibition in 1920.
Lismer had a long and respected career as an educator. After living and teaching in Thornhill, Ontario, in 1916 he was appointed Principal of the Victoria School of Art and Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1919 he returned to Toronto as Vice-Principal of the Ontario College of Art, remaining there until 1927. He then went on to direct art education at the Art Gallery of Toronto until 1938. He was a visiting lecturer in the Teacher’s College at Columbia University in New York in 1938, and directed education programs for the National Gallery of Canada from 1939 to 1940. From 1942 to 1967 he was Principal of the Montreal Art Association’s School of Art, and from 1948 to 1955 he was an Assistant Professor at McGill University. Lismer was one of the founding members of the Canadian Group of Painters in 1933, and was President of the group from 1954 to 1955. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1946. After his time spent teaching in Halifax, Lismer returned many times to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to paint. He also traveled to the West Coast, and in 1951 made his first trip to Long Beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island. He returned there for sixteen subsequent summers, painting forest undergrowth and seashore scenes. Lismer received many honours later in life, such as the Order of Canada, the Greer Memorial Award, a Canada Council Medal and honourary degrees from Dahousie and McGill Universities. |
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Arthur Lismer The Sheep’s Nose, Bon Echo 40 x 45in 101.6 x 114.3cm oil on canvas Estimate: $700,000 - $900,000 CDN Sold for: $1,111,500 CDN (premium included) At Heffel's Spring 2010 - 2nd Session auction on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 |
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Arthur Lismer Spring on the Sackville River, NS 35 x 43in 88.9 x 109.2cm oil on canvas Estimate: $600,000 - $800,000 CDN Sold for: $855,500 CDN (premium included) At Heffel's Fall 2016 - 4th Session auction on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 |
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Arthur Lismer A Northern Town, Mattawa, Ontario 32 x 40in 81.3 x 101.6cm oil on canvas Estimate: $300,000 - $400,000 CDN Sold for: $324,500 CDN (premium included) At Heffel's Fall 2014 - 2nd Session auction on Thursday, November 27, 2014 |
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Arthur Lismer Shoreline, Vancouver Island 24 x 30in 61 x 76.2cm oil on canvas Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000 CDN Sold for: $264,500 CDN (premium included) At Heffel's Fine Canadian Art Spring 2007 auction on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 |
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Arthur Lismer Dark Pine, Georgian Bay 21 x 26in 53.3 x 66cm oil on canvas Estimate: $120,000 - $150,000 CDN Sold for: $241,500 CDN (premium included) At Heffel's Fine Canadian Art Fall 2007 auction on Friday, November 23, 2007 |
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Arthur Lismer Pines, Georgian Bay 18 x 22in 45.7 x 55.9cm oil on canvas Estimate: $70,000 - $90,000 CDN Sold for: $152,100 CDN (premium included) At Heffel's Spring 2010 - 2nd Session auction on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 |
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Arthur Lismer Reflections, Georgian Bay 18 x 23 7/8in 45.7 x 60.6cm oil on board Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000 CDN Sold for: $140,400 CDN (premium included) At Heffel's Fall 2010 - 2nd Session auction on Thursday, November 25, 2010 |
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Arthur Lismer Dark Pool, Canadian Jungle, Georgian Bay 20 x 24in 50.8 x 61cm oil on canvas Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000 CDN Sold for: $140,400 CDN (premium included) At Heffel's Fall 2010 - 2nd Session auction on Thursday, November 25, 2010 |
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Arthur Lismer Pines Silhouette, Georgian Bay 11 3/4 x 15 3/4in 29.8 x 40cm oil on panel Estimate: $20,000 - $25,000 CDN Sold for: $117,000 CDN (premium included) At Heffel's Spring 2010 - 2nd Session auction on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 |
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Arthur Lismer Winter Landscape 18 x 20in 45.7 x 50.8cm oil on canvas Estimate: $125,000 - $175,000 CDN Sold for: $117,000 CDN (premium included) At Heffel's Fall 2008 - 2nd Session auction on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 |