History, Art and Architecture
Collection
O-792
• painting (portrait)
• The Honourable Sir John Thompson
O-792 • painting (portrait) • The Honourable Sir John Thompson
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Specifications
Artists | John Wycliffe Lowes Forster (Artist) |
---|---|
Date | 1897 |
Signature | J.W.L. FORSTER |
Inscriptions |
HON. PREMIER SIR JOHN THOMPSON L HON. 1892-1894
|
Materials | paint, oil |
Support | canvas |
Personal Names | John Sparrow David Thompson (House of Commons) |
Dimensions (cm) | 144.1 (Width) • 179.0 (Height) • 16.5 (Depth) |
Functions | Art |
J.W.L. Forster
J.W.L. Forster’s catalogue includes official portraits of Prime Ministers John Thompson and Alexander Mackenzie, unofficial portraits of other Prime Ministers, and recognizable names from Canadian history such as Bell, Eaton, Wolfe, Simcoe and Brock. He also did portraits of Queen Victoria, and the emperor and empress of Japan.
Forster was born in Norval, Ontario in 1850, studied in Toronto, London and Paris, then established a studio on King Street in Toronto in 1883. His painting “Departure of Canada’s First Contingent for South Africa, 1899,” was destroyed in the fire at Parliament in 1916, but his official portraits of Prime Ministers survived.