George Horne Russell was born in Banff, Scotland in 1861. He studied at the Aberdeen Art School, and then moved to London, where he took classes at the South Kensington Art School. During his studies, he developed an ability for portraiture and was encouraged to concentrate on that genre of art in his development as an established artist. While in London, Russell undertook a few local commissions - however, a friend advised him to move to Canada, as he would be able to establish himself as a professional European portrait painter.

In 1889, at the age of 28, Russell moved to Montreal and rented a studio, and began to make his name as a portrait artist. Although he completed many portraits for well-known individuals, Russell was not fully content with just being a portrait painter. He had a love for nature – particularly the sea – and he began focusing more on landscape painting. In 1909, the Grand Trunk Railway made him an offer to paint the Rockies and the Skeena River district of British Columbia. This was the point when Russell truly established himself as a landscape / seascape painter, when he returned with a series of large canvases depicting the beauties of Western Canada.

In 1909 he was elected Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy, and in 1919 became a full Academician. In 1922, he became President of the RCA. He was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding portraitists; he knew and painted some of the most distinguished men of his day. Russell was said to have had a quiet and pleasing personality, and could put a nervous sitter at ease with a few words. He was also an talented marine painter. Russell’s works can be found in the collections of the Toronto Art Gallery (now the Art Gallery of Ontario), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the National Gallery of Canada.