Life and work

Forshaw Day was born in London, England in 1837. He studied architecture and design at the Royal Dublin Society

Royal Dublin Society

The Royal Dublin Society was founded on 25 June 1731 to "to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland". The RDS is synonymous with its main premises in Ballsbridge in Dublin, Ireland...

 in Dublin, Ireland in 1857. He studied architecture and design at the South Kensington School of Art in London, England. Forshaw Day emigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

 at age 25 in 1862.

Early career

He painted pictures and taught painting at the Technological Institute in Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1862-1879. He prepared sets for Garrison theatre productions in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1876, Day supplied a panorama, "From Paris to London," for a professional theatre company.
He worked as a draftsman at the in H.M. Naval Yard from 1862-79 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
He moved to Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

 where he taught freehand drawing at the Royal Military College of Canada

Royal Military College of Canada

The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...

 from 1879-1897. Day painted in England, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. In Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Day painted in the Maritimes, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and the Northwest Territories.

Critical success

Forshaw Day worked in the late 19th Century, after the Civil War in the United States. Day was elected a member of the Ontario Society of Artists
on August 14, 1879. He exhibited his works at the shows of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts

The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts is a Canadian arts-related institution founded in 1880, under the patronage of the Governor General of Canada, Sir John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, the Marquess of Lorne. Canadian landscape painter Homer Watson was a member and president of the Academy...

.

Work

Forshaw Day's work involved a combination of easel painting, printmaking and graphics. He worked with etching and oil paint. His preferred subjects included landscapes and marine seascapes.

Museums

Forshaw Day's work is found in various museums and private collections.

• The Royal Military College of Canada
  Royal Military College of Canada
  The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...
  
   has two Forshaw Day paintings, both western scenes, which were gifts to the College from ex-cadets, donated in memory of pleasant days spent out sketching with the Professor.
• Purcell’s Cove; Spectacle Island - no date. oil on canvas, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax, Nova Scotia

• National Gallery of Canada Library & Archives in Ottawa, Ontario.
• Yarmouth County Museum & Archives in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
  Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
  Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...
  
  .

Recognition

Forshaw Island, St Joseph Channel, Algoma, Ontario, Canada was named in honour of late Professor Forshaw Day, Esq., R.C.A sometime Professor of Drawing at the Royal Military College, Kingston c. 1879.

External links