The Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (in French: La Société Canadienne de Peintres en Aquarelle), founded in 1925 is considered to be

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's official national

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

Society. Since the 1980s the Society has enjoyed

Vice-regal A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

Patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

from the incumbent

Governor-General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

. Recognized by a long list of international exhibitions it is the Canadian equivalent of such other national societies as the

American Watercolor Society The American Watercolor Society, founded in 1866, is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States. Qualifications AWS judges the work of a painter before granting admission to the soc ...

of the United States, the

Royal Watercolour Society The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wa ...

of the United Kingdom, etc. The nation's oldest

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

-specific arts organization has had an illustrious history. Membership is looked upon as a mark of achieving peer recognition in one of the most difficult and demanding visual arts form. The elected members are entitled to use the Society's initials CSPWC (in French: SCPA) after their names.

Early history

There is probably justification for including some of the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

peoples as early users of versions of

in their artwork and crafts. Using local materials and chemicals they certainly approximated the watercolour medium in some of their

pigments A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

and

dyes A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and ...

while really not having any practical reason for exploring any inherent transparent qualities. The first recorded use of a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an trained watercolourist working within what is today

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

territory is believed to be the works of John WhiteCanadian Encyclopaedia who accompanied the expeditions of

Sir Martin Frobisher Sir Martin Frobisher (; c. 1535 – 22 November 1594) was an English seaman and privateer who made three voyages to the New World looking for the North-west Passage. He probably sighted Resolution Island near Labrador in north-eastern Canada ...

in the 1570s. Another early example of a gifted watercolourist working in the same region would be

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...

who first arrived in 1603. Historically art-trained officers or

cartographers Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

were dispatched by both the French and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

governments to assist in the preparation of vitally important maps of these newly claimed lands and to record geographical features. There is a surviving wealth of early watercolours from this period which record landscape features and early settlements. Eagerly collected in today's art markets the best are notably housed in

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

, the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

and the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

. Prior to the invention of the

camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...

, watercolour

portrait miniatures A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century el ...

, on vellum or ivory, were a staple in the homes of Canada's urban elite. By the nineteenth century there were a number of well-known watercolourists such as Thomas Davies 737-1812"The Ontario Community Collects (A survey of Canadian Painting, 1766 to the present)" By William C. Forsey. Publisher: Art Gallery of Ontario, Catalogue 1975. Page 68 and pages 88-91.

George Heriot George Heriot (15 June 1563 – 12 February 1624) was a Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist. He is chiefly remembered today as the founder of George Heriot's School, a large independent school in Edinburgh; his name has also been given to H ...

Otto Reinhold Jacobi Otto Reinhold Jacobi (27 February 1812 8 February 1901) was a German-Canadian artist. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Life and work Born in 1830 Königsberg, Jacobi studied in Berlin at the Royal Academy of Arts. He ...

, C. J. Way and Canadian-born

Lucius Richard O'Brien Lucius Richard O'Brien (or L. R. O'Brien as he was known) (15 August 1832 – 13 December 1899) was an influential 19th-century Canadian oil and watercolour landscape artist. Life and career Lucius O'Brien was born in Shanty Bay, Upper ...

832-1899working in various parts of the country. Kane became well known for his record of interactions with the

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

People as he traveled across western

with

The North West Company The North West Company is a multinational Canadian grocery and retail company which operates stores in Canada's western provinces and northern territories, as well as the US states of Alaska, Hawaii, and several other countries and US territ ...

and the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

. While Jacobi, Way and O'Brien and others involved themselves in the 1880 founding of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

there had long been demands, especially in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, for the formation of a specifically medium based society. While several of these early societies did survive for brief periods it was on November 11, 1925, that a group of like-minded artists met at the historic Arts & Letters Club of Toronto and founded the CSPWC/SCPA. Only when a working framework was proposed for membership under the honorary leadership of the noted painter R.F. Gagen did it seem possible that such a society could survive in the immense

geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

reality that was Canada. Within a few years a set of

bylaws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

had been established, a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

approved and several

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

-based exhibitions held. The first elected President was Frederick Henry (Fred) Brigden (1871–1951) a well-connected artist and educator who created a sense of vitality within the group and who encouraged many younger artists to apply for election. The founding members of the CSPWC/SCPA were Brigden,

A.J. Casson Alfred Joseph Casson LL. D. (May 17, 1898 – February 20, 1992) was a member of the Canadian group of artists known as the Group of Seven. He joined the group in 1926 at the invitation of Franklin Carmichael, replacing Frank Johnston. Ca ...

Franklin Carmichael Franklin Carmichael (May 4, 1890 – October 24, 1945) was a Canadian artist and member of the Group of Seven. Though he was primarily famous for his use of watercolours, he also used oil paints, charcoal and other media to capture the Ontario ...

, C.W. Jefferys, Fred S. Haines, L. A. C. Panton,

Robert Ford Gagen Robert Ford Gagen , also known as R. F. Gagen and as Robert F. Gagen, (May10, 1847March02, 1926) was a Canadian painter of seascapes and landscapes. Biography ] Robert Ford Gagen, was born in London, England. He came to Canada with his parents ...

, Thomas G. Greene, Robert Holmes (artist), Robert Holmes, Frank Johnston, André Lapine, and J. Ernest Sampson. When organizing the initial meeting these mainly Ontario-based artists did invite a number of nationally prominent watercolourists including W.J. Phillips and

Florence Helena McGillivray Florence Helena McGillivray (March1, 1864May 7, 1938), also known as F H. McGillivray, was a Canadian landscape painter known for her Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist style. Her family home was in Whitby, Ontario. She lived in Ottawa from ...

who, being based at distances from Toronto, were unable to attend. However they did send strong letters of support and in reality should be considered "founders". This is significant because the inclusion of Florence H. McGillivray is evidence of the new society's willingness to accept

female Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gamet ...

members from its inception.

Formative years

The CSPWC/SCPA, attracting attention in its infancy, was soon having its exhibitions hung at the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Beve ...

) and the

. This emphasis on exhibitions was crucial at the time as there were virtually no commercial galleries in the country. The only way an individual artist could make a living was by exhibiting with such societies as the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, the

Ontario Society of Artists The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) was founded in 1872. It is Canada's oldest continuously operating professional art society. When it was founded at the home of John Arthur Fraser, seven artists were present. Besides Fraser himself, Marmaduke M ...

, and the

Royal Canadian Academy The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

, in a public gallery. The reality was that the emerging artist got public recognition by jury acceptance to exhibit with his or her better-known peer group, their fame adding lustre by association. In the years between the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

experienced a period of unexpected growth as demand for its agricultural products and mineral wealth made it one of the world's strongest markets. As one of the signatories of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

in 1919, Canada was, unknown to itself at the time, seeking to establish its own identity separate from its earlier colonial rulers. WorldsFair1939

It was in the visual arts, initially in the area of landscape painting, that the new country found one of its strongest senses of self. As painters across the country fanned out into their respective rural, backwoods and northern spaces, it was the medium of watercolour an easily transportable and light material which lent itself so readily to the newly popular subject matter. While many artists did use watercolours as an on-site sketching medium, many used those same paintings as source material for often larger and more highly finished works on

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

that they produced in their home studios. The resulting public perception of watercolours as a lesser medium than others such as oil is a still recurrent problem for all practitioners despite the fact that watercolour is the more demanding medium. It was this very ill-informed perception that was behind the very founding of the Society as an exhibiting body where the individual art pieces would not be compared to neighbouring work in other less challenging materials. Beginning in the 1930s, the

was instrumental in assisting the CSPWC/SCPA with a series of high-profile international exchange exhibitions with societies in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and the US. In addition, the National Gallery from 1933 onward sponsored a regular series of juried shows that toured across Canada. The Federal Government invited the CSPWC/SCPA to exhibit in the Canadian Pavilion at the 1938

British Empire Exhibition The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925. Background In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhibit ...

and at the 1939 New York

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

. Both of these overseas exhibitions were praised by the international art press and served to increase the prestige of the Society. With the outbreak of

a number of members were appointed official war artists and served in various capacities at home and on the war fronts. The regular series of exhibitions was obviously affected and only fully resumed in 1946.

Times change

In 1949, the Society's annual exhibition at the

Art Gallery of Toronto The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Beve ...

was reorganized to open up new rules to become the first truly "open", as opposed to "invitational", show in the Society's history. That tradition, with some amendments, has continued to the present day with the current "Open Water" Annual Exhibition being open internationally to any artist working in the medium. The 1950s witnessed the creation of new areas of art scholarship with the development of both commercial art galleries and a new professional approach to art curatorships in the major public galleries. Finding that a sizable percentage of the exhibition program was taken up with the annual shows of regional and national arts groups, the new curatorial staff repositioned themselves. The last regular exhibition of the Society at the Art Gallery of Toronto was hosted in 1958 and subsequently there was a cooling of long treasured connections with Ottawa's National Gallery. The leadership within the CSPWC/SCPA sought alternate gallery space and found it in a variety of venues from coast to coast. Regional galleries, libraries and university campuses hosted the annual exhibitions and a new sense of national identity was found within the Society. While the annual search for a venue created much work for a volunteer membership it did help develop a real sense of comradeship that has continued to the present day. While a number of other media-based institutions started to falter during this difficult period the CSPWC/SCPA worked very hard to keep itself viable and the annual juried show its "

raison d'être Raison d'être is a French expression commonly used in English, meaning "reason for being" or "reason to be". Raison d'être may refer to: Music * Raison d'être (band), a Swedish dark-ambient-industrial-drone music project * ''Raison D'être' ...

". Working from within its own resources and relying on elected members in far-flung communities, the regular annual exhibitions continued to take place but the cost of shipping, cataloguing and insurance were prohibitive and much of the work was performed by a small set of volunteers. It all became very draining, and as new commercial galleries sprung up, many members left to forge more lucrative connections.

Rebounding

The long history of annual juried exhibitions continued into the 1970s and with the addition of exchange exhibitions with the

at the National Academy Galleries in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1975, an invitation was accepted to exhibit at the newly renovated

Canada House Canada House (french: Maison du Canada) is a Greek Revival building on Trafalgar Square in London. It has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1970. It has served as the offices of the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom since 192 ...

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The same year the Art Gallery of Ontario hosted an "in-house" retrospective to salute the Society's 50th anniversary. In 1976 the Society was able to organize a member exchange exhibition with

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

that was exhibited at the

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum The is an art museum in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of Japan's many museums which are supported by a prefectural government. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Museums"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 671-673. The current structure, designed by Kunio M ...

. This particular show, with the cooperation of a number of government and commercial partners was a critical success. The acclaim received gave the CSPWC/SCPA members a renewed sense of identity. Working with Visual Arts Ontario, the Society was able to obtain permanent office space in the 1970s and was able to organize the first of a number of educational seminars that have evolved into today's popular National Watercolour Symposiums. These week-long events have been held in virtually every part of the country and have been responsible for a major spurt in applications for membership. When the time came to organize the CSPWC/SCPA 1985

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

the Society found that the world of art had again gone through some major changes. First there was a burst of new interest in the whole field of painting in watercolour that was particularly evident in

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. There was also a realization in the art community that while there were many advantages to be found in the commercial galleries there were still other opportunities that could only be found in the context of the traditional societies. This was strongly reinforced when H.M. The Queen accepted the 60 paintings that had been juried as the "CSPWC Diamond Jubilee Collection" (later known as the

Royal Collection Project - CSPWC The Royal Collection Project is a body of seventy five contemporary Canadian watercolours housed within The Royal Collection of Queen Elizabeth II. They comprise the single largest Canadian component within The Royal Collection, and were compile ...

, phase 1) into the fabled

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

and exhibited them in 1986 in the Castle's Drawing Gallery. Later the CSPWC/SCPA was deeply involved with a major touring exhibition "International Waters" that put Canadian paintings on exhibition with submissions from The

, The

, and

The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours (RSW) is a Scottish organisation of painters. The first preliminary meeting of the society took place in Glasgow on 21 December 1877 as a reaction to a lack of interest in watercolour art by ...

in venues in four different countries. In the 1980s the CSPWC/SCPA was one of a number of major arts organizations that set up the John B. Aird Gallery/Galerie John B. Aird within the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Government administrative complex at Queen's Park,

. The Aird Gallery, available to each of the societies for an annual exhibition, put the CSPWC/SCPA on a secure exhibition footing and yet still gave it the opportunity to seek exhibition opportunities across the nation. When their regular exhibition slot is not used for the Annual "Open Water" show it is devoted to member themed displays. By the 1990s the CSPWC/SCPA had truly become a "national" society with a series of regional directors and members drawn from across the country. This continues today with the current outreach to involve greater participation from

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

artists. Celebrating the 75th anniversary in 2000 with its regular Annual "Open Water" exhibition, the CSPWC/SCPA unveiled the first Julius Griffith award given to "an elected member who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to the Society". Once again adjudication of members' works took place in order to send another 15 paintings to be added to the 60 Canadian holdings at the Royal Library at

to become a part of the CSPWC's Royal Collection Project. Those selected were displayed at the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto and then at the Canadian High Commission in

where they were, in 2001, formally accepted by H.R.H. the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

who is an Honorary Member of the CSPWC/SCPA. There was also a members' exhibition in Toronto that marked the anniversary thereby continuing a long tradition. As the year came to a close, a major retrospective show of the Society, "A Brush with History", was organized by the Art Gallery of

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

Present

The Annual "Open Water" show, open to all artists, continues to be the focus of the Society's work, which can be hosted anywhere in the country. The most prestigious award is the " A. J. Casson Award", a commissioned medal created by the distinguished Canadian sculptor Dora de Pédery-Hunt, given "for outstanding achievement in watercolour painting" to the best work in the show. In January 2008, the CSPWC/SCPA hosted an exhibition at the John B. Aird Gallery/Galerie John B. Aird which honored the careers of ten outstanding Life Members. Titled "Treasures", this show was the best attended Aird Gallery exhibition in decades. The next year saw another ten Life Members honored in "Treasures 2009". The Society is a regular contributor to bi-annual exhibitions at the Museo Nacional de le Acuarela in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The Society has a long history of encouraging younger artists and with sponsored awards . Since the 1980s each member upon election is required to donate a significant and typical work to the Society's Diploma Collection. This valuable resource which also includes earlier works by members is often referred to as the National Watercolour Collection. It is available as an exhibition and study resource, and part of the collection is exhibited on a regular basis.

CSPWC/SCPA Presidents

* 1925-26

* 1926-28 Frederick Henry (Fred) Brigden * 1928-31 C.W. Jefferys * 1931-32 T.G. Greene * 1932-34

* 1934-38

Peter Haworth Peter Haworth (1889 – 7 May 1986) was a British-born Canadian painter. He was known for his stained glass work. Early years Peter Haworth was born in 1889 in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, England. During World War I (1914–1918) he served in th ...

* 1938-41 Carl Schaefer * 1941-43 Charles Goldhamer * 1943-45 Caven Atkins * 1945-46

Jack Bush John Hamilton Bush (March 20, 1909 – January 24, 1977) was a Canadian abstract painter. A member of Painters Eleven, his paintings are associated with the Color Field movement and Post-painterly Abstraction. Inspired by Henri Ma ...

* 1946-48 William Winter * 1948-50 Paraskeva Clark * 1950-52

Charles Comfort Charles Fraser Comfort, LL. D. (July 22, 1900 – July 5, 1994) was a Scotland-born Canadian painter, sculptor, teacher, writer and administrator. Career and biography Early life Born near Edinburgh, Scotland, Comfort moved to Winnipeg in 1 ...

"Landmarks of Canadian Art". By Peter Mellen, publisher McClelland and Stewart Ltd, Toronto. Pages 195-197. * 1952-54

Jock Macdonald James Williamson Galloway Macdonald (31 May 1897 – 3 December 1960), commonly known in his professional life as Jock Macdonald, was a member of Painters Eleven (Painters 11, or P11), whose goal was to promote abstract art in Canada. Macdo ...

* 1954-56

Bobs Cogill Haworth Bobs Cogill Haworth (1900–1988) was a South African-born Canadian painter and potter. She practiced mainly in Toronto, living and working with her husband, painter and teacher Peter Haworth. She was a member of the Canadian Group of Painters ...

* 1956-58

Doris McCarthy Doris McCarthy, LL. D. (July 7, 1910 – November 25, 2010) was a Canadian artist known for her abstracted landscapes. Life and career Born in Calgary, Alberta, McCarthy attended the Ontario College of Art from 1926 to 1930, where she was award ...

Canadian Who's Who * 1958-60 Julius Griffith * 1960-62 D. Mackay Houston * 1962-64 John Richmond * 1964-65 Donald Neddeau * 1965-67 Viktorus Brickus * 1967-69 Barbara L. Greene * 1969-72 John Henry Martin * 1972-77 John Bennett * 1977-79 Ray Cattell * 1979-81 Julius Griffith * 1981-84 William Sherman * 1984-85 Gery Puley * 1985-88 Osvald Timmas * 1988-91 Rudolf Stussi * 1991-93 Marc Critoph * 1993-95 Anthony J. Batten * 1995-97 Margaret L. Squire * 1997-99 Chuck Burns * 1999-2001 Ed Shawcross * 2001-03 Neville Clarke * 2003-05 Tim Packer * 2005-07 Marc L. Gagnon * 2007-09 Marlene Madole * 2009-11 Peter Marsh * 2011-12 Katherine Zarull * 2012-14 William Rogers * 2014-19 Rayne Tunley * 2019-2021 Jean Pederson * 2021- Sam L Boehner

Elected Members

* 1980-2015 Sharon Christian Holmes

References

Bibliography

* "Canadian Who's Who", University of Toronto Press * "Painting in Canada, A History", J. Russell Harper, University of Toronto Press, 1966 * "Passionate Spirits", , Rebecca Sisler, Clarke Irwin and Co.

External links

* {{Authority control Canadian painters Arts organizations based in Canada Arts organizations established in 1925 Canadian artist groups and collectives