Homer Watson (Homer Ransford Watson)

1855-1936

Homer Watson was born in Kitchener, Ontario and often sketched his surroundings as a young boy. In 1870, he was given a set of paints by his aunt who was very supportive of his love for art. Watson got further inspiration in his father’s study where he read William Hogarth’s Treatise on perspective and made copies of Gustave Doré’s illustrations for Dante’s Inferno. In 1872, while visiting Toronto, Watson showed some sketches to Canadian artist Thomas Mower Martin who greatly encouraged him to pursue his art. In 1874, Watson moved to Toronto where he copied old master paintings at the Toronto Normal School. He also copied works in the gallery of the photographic studio of Notman-Fraser, where he worked part-time. At the studio he met Lucius O’Brien, Henry Sandham, John A. Fraser and other landscape artists. In 1876, he visited New York and met American painter George Inness with whom he painted along the Hudson River and in the Adirondack Mountains. During this period of his life, Watson was greatly influenced by the Hudson River School.

Having decided to pursue a career in art, Watson returned to Kitchener and set up a studio. He mainly painted rural life and landscapes of the Grand River countryside and his works were very well received in Toronto. In 1878 he exhibited with the Ontario Society of Artists and was elected a member soon after. In 1880, he started exhibiting at the Royal Canadian Academy shows, sometimes twice a year, and did so annually until 1936. That same year he began exhibiting at the Art Association of Montreal, which he also did regularly until 1936. During the first exhibition of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1880, one of Watson’s paintings was purchased by the Marquis of Lorne, then Governor General of Canada, for Queen Victoria’s art collection. This was widely celebrated in the press and launched Watson’s career, bringing him financial security from then on. On that same year, he was made an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy.

In 1881, Watson married Roxanna Bechtel and they settled in Kitchener. In 1882, Watson received further renown when he was acclaimed “The Canadian Constable” by visiting British writer Oscar Wilde, who later commissioned a painting. In 1886, Watson was awarded the bronze medal at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London, England, which encouraged him to move to England the following year. In England, Watson met American painter James MacNeill Whistler, studied etching with Sir George Lausen and saw the work of Constable, which greatly influence him. In 1889, Watson held solo exhibitions at the New Gallery in London, England, and at the Royal Institute in Glasgow, Scotland. Before coming back to Canada in 1891, Watson visited Scotland and France where he saw the work of the French Barbizon painters.

Back home in Kitchener, Watson continued to paint, exhibit his work widely and receive awards and critical acclaim. In 1882, he was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy. The following year, one of his paintings won First Prize at the Art Association of Montreal Spring Show and was purchased by Lord Strathcona. Many purchases from prominent Montrealers followed, including the wealthy railroad contractor James Ross who became an important patron for Watson. That same year, Watson was awarded a bronze medal at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, USA.

In 1899, Watson’s international acclaim reached its zenith with prestigious solo exhibitions in London, England, and New York. In 1900, he completed "The Flood Gate" that he later considered to be his masterpiece, which his now in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. In 1901, Watson received further recognition in the United States when he won a gold medal at Chicago’s World Fair and at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo. In 1902, his work "The Flood Gate" was exhibited at the Glasgow Institute and received great critical acclaim. This briefly tempted Watson to live again in Britain until he realized that only the rural Canadian landscape could inspire him. In 1904, Watson was awarded yet another bronze medal, this time at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, USA. Two years later he held another solo exhibition in New York at Cottier’s Gallery.

In 1907, Watson became a founding member of the Canadian Art Club, was President from 1907 to 1911 and exhibited with them in Toronto from 1909 to 1914. Other artists in the group included Horatio Walker, Edmund Morris, Curtis Williamson, Joseph Archibald Brown, W.E. Atkinson, James W. Morrice and Franklin Brownell. In 1909, he visited Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Cobalt, Ontario, and the following year he made his last trip to England. In 1914, he was commissioned to paint for the Canadian War Records at Val Cartier, Quebec, and in 1918 he executed a series of paintings recognizing Canada’s participation in the Great War. Starting in 1918, he served as President of the Royal Canadian Academy until deafness forced him to retire in 1922.

During the next decade, Watson continued to paint and exhibit his work at the shows of the Royal Canadian Academy and the Art Association of Montreal. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 left him penniless and forced him to sell canvases from his personal collection. In 1930, the Art Gallery of Ontario organized a large retrospective exhibition from which several paintings were sold, thus easing his financial worries. He died in Kitchener at the age of 81. Days after his death, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.

Following his death, many retrospective exhibitions were held, notably in Ottawa at Chateau Laurier in 1937, at the National Gallery of Canada in 1963 and in Kitchener at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery in 1975.

Collections:

- National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal, QC)
- Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (Quebec City, QC)
- McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Kleinburg, ON)
- Canadian War Museum (Ottawa, ON)
- Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto, ON)
- Art Gallery of Hamilton (Hamilton, ON)
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (Victoria, BC)
- Beaverbrook Art Gallery (Fredericton, NB)
- Edmonton Art Gallery (Edmonton, AB)
- Vancouver Art Gallery (Vancouver, BC)
- MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina, SK)
- The Winnipeg Art Gallery (Winnipeg, MN)
- The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa, ON)
- Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery (Owen Sound, ON)
- Museum London (London, ON)
- Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Kingston, ON)
- Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Halifax, NS)
- Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery (Moose Jaw, SK)
- Library and Archives Canada (Ottawa, ON)
- Power Corporation of Canada (Montreal, QC)

Affiliations:

- Associate, Royal Canadian Academy (1880)
- Royal Canadian Academy (1882) (Vice-President, 1914) (President, 1918-1922)
- Ontario Society of Artists (1883)
- Canadian Art Club (Co-Founder, 1907) (President, 1907-1911)