Arthur Lismer
Arthur Lismer
1885 - 1969
AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA
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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The Sheep’s Nose, Bon Echo by Arthur Lismer sold for $1,111,500
Arthur Lismer
The Sheep’s Nose, Bon Echo
40 x 45 in, 101.6 x 114.3 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $700,000 - $900,000 CDN
Sold for: $1,111,500 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2010 - 2nd Session on Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Spring on the Sackville River, NS by Arthur Lismer sold for $855,500
Arthur Lismer
Spring on the Sackville River, NS
35 x 43 in, 88.9 x 109.2 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $600,000 - $800,000 CDN
Sold for: $855,500 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2016 - 4th Session on Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Tugs and Troop Carrier, Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia by Arthur Lismer sold for $781,250
Arthur Lismer
Tugs and Troop Carrier, Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia
40 x 50 in, 101.6 x 127 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $700,000 - $900,000 CDN
Sold for: $781,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Wednesday, November 21, 2018
An Ontario Village (Meadowvale) by Arthur Lismer sold for $751,250
Arthur Lismer
An Ontario Village (Meadowvale)
32 x 40 in, 81.3 x 101.6 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $250,000 - $350,000 CDN
Sold for: $751,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Thursday, May 25, 2023
Mountain and Lake by Arthur Lismer sold for $601,250
Arthur Lismer
Mountain and Lake
32 x 40 in, 81.3 x 101.6 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $400,000 - $600,000 CDN
Sold for: $601,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Wednesday, December 01, 2021
A Northern Town, Mattawa, Ontario by Arthur Lismer sold for $324,500
Arthur Lismer
A Northern Town, Mattawa, Ontario
32 x 40 in, 81.3 x 101.6 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $300,000 - $400,000 CDN
Sold for: $324,500 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2014 - 2nd Session on Thursday, November 27, 2014
Shoreline, Vancouver Island by Arthur Lismer sold for $264,500
Arthur Lismer
Shoreline, Vancouver Island
24 x 30 in, 61 x 76.2 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000 CDN
Sold for: $264,500 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2007 on Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Dark Pine, Georgian Bay by Arthur Lismer sold for $241,500
Arthur Lismer
Dark Pine, Georgian Bay
21 x 26 in, 53.3 x 66 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $120,000 - $150,000 CDN
Sold for: $241,500 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Fall 2007 on Friday, November 23, 2007
The Pine Tree, Georgian Bay by Arthur Lismer sold for $229,250
Arthur Lismer
The Pine Tree, Georgian Bay
24 x 30 in, 61 x 76.2 cm
circa 1923
oil on canvas
Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000 CDN
Sold for: $229,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Pines, Georgian Bay by Arthur Lismer sold for $152,100
Arthur Lismer
Pines, Georgian Bay
18 x 22 in, 45.7 x 55.9 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $70,000 - $90,000 CDN
Sold for: $152,100 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2010 - 2nd Session on Wednesday, May 26, 2010