Horatio Walker
Encyclopedia
Horatio Walker was a respected and commercially successful Canadian
painter. He worked in oils
and watercolors
, often depicting scenes of rural life in Canada. He was highly influenced by the French Barbizon school
of painting.
Horatio Walker was born in 1858 to parents Thomas and Jeanne Maurice Walker. Thomas Walker emigrated in 1856 from Yorkshire
, England
, to Listowel, Ontario, with his wife of French and English heritage. Having some wealth, Thomas purchased land for lumber in Midwestern Ontario and Horatio was raised in relative comfort. His interest in art may originate from his father who crafted small figures as a hobby, and both his father and the local school teacher encouraged drawing as a pastime.
In 1870, on Walker’s 12th birthday, his father brought him to Quebec City
, Quebec
, for the first time. His father made occasional business trips to the city as part of his timber business. During this sojourn, they visited the Île d'Orléans
, in search of pine timber. Walker made subsequent visits to Quebec City
during the following years. His formal schooling ended at the Listowel Public School in 1872; he never went on to pursue formal academic training in art. At the age of 15, Walker moved to Toronto
, Ontario
to apprentice with the photographic firm Notman and Fraser. It was a fortunate opportunity, as several successful artists worked also there; Walker learned watercolour from Robert Gagnon, miniature portrait painting from John Fraser, and painting from Lucius O’Brien and Henri Perré.
During the period of Walker’s life around 1878, he would have become familiar with the painters of the Barbizon school
, which were at the time, exhibited in American museums and galleries. In 1880, Walker made an extended trip to Europe to learn more about the Barbizon methods, and its agrarian subject matter, that would come to define his painting for the rest of his life.
What happened with Walker during the two following years remains vague, but in 1878, he opened a studio in New York City
. During the 1880s, Walker’s parents moved to Rochester, New York, and Walker participated in the founding of the Rochester Art Club. A further sign of Walker’s growing success was an invitation to join the American Watercolour membership in 1882. In 1883 he married Jeanette Pretty (d. 1938) of Toronto. They had two children, Alice (1884–1891) and Horatio Jr. (1886–1910). It was sometime during this period that Walker purchased a residence on Île d'Orléans
in the village of Sainte-Pétronille. From now on until his retirement, Walker would spend his summers in Quebec
and winters in his New York City
studio.
Walker’s personal life was disastrous: his daughter died of diphtheria, his son of tuberculosis and his wife Jeanette, was committed to hospital permanently in 1914 due to paranoia. These tragedies do not seem influence his painting; Walker’s subject matter and style remained constant throughout this career without much variation.
(associate member in 1890, full member in 1891), and the British Institute of Watercolours (1901). He was a founding member of the Canadian Art Club, which elected him as its president in 1915. In 1928 he officially retired and moved to Sainte-Pétronille, Quebec. He died there on September 27, 1938.
He was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto
(1916) and Université Laval
, Québec City (1938).
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...
painter. He worked in oils
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
and watercolors
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
, often depicting scenes of rural life in Canada. He was highly influenced by the French Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
of painting.
Early life
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to Listowel, Ontario, with his wife of French and English heritage. Having some wealth, Thomas purchased land for lumber in Midwestern Ontario and Horatio was raised in relative comfort. His interest in art may originate from his father who crafted small figures as a hobby, and both his father and the local school teacher encouraged drawing as a pastime.
In 1870, on Walker’s 12th birthday, his father brought him to Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, for the first time. His father made occasional business trips to the city as part of his timber business. During this sojourn, they visited the Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans is located in the Saint Lawrence River about east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The island was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage of French Canadians can trace ancestry to early residents of the island...
, in search of pine timber. Walker made subsequent visits to Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
during the following years. His formal schooling ended at the Listowel Public School in 1872; he never went on to pursue formal academic training in art. At the age of 15, Walker moved to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, 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....
to apprentice with the photographic firm Notman and Fraser. It was a fortunate opportunity, as several successful artists worked also there; Walker learned watercolour from Robert Gagnon, miniature portrait painting from John Fraser, and painting from Lucius O’Brien and Henri Perré.
Mature life and career
Walker was only at the firm for three years until he moved to the United States of America for uncertain reasons. Writing in 1928, Hector Charlesworth suggested that Walker was, “chucked down the stairs” and fired for quarrelling with a family relative. However, it is more likely that Walker travelled to Philadelphia for the American Centennial in 1876, an exhibition where Notman and Fraser won the international award, which privileged the firm with exclusive photographic rights for the celebrations. Ultimately, Walker may have decided to stay and pursue painting.During the period of Walker’s life around 1878, he would have become familiar with the painters of the Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
, which were at the time, exhibited in American museums and galleries. In 1880, Walker made an extended trip to Europe to learn more about the Barbizon methods, and its agrarian subject matter, that would come to define his painting for the rest of his life.
What happened with Walker during the two following years remains vague, but in 1878, he opened a studio in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. During the 1880s, Walker’s parents moved to Rochester, New York, and Walker participated in the founding of the Rochester Art Club. A further sign of Walker’s growing success was an invitation to join the American Watercolour membership in 1882. In 1883 he married Jeanette Pretty (d. 1938) of Toronto. They had two children, Alice (1884–1891) and Horatio Jr. (1886–1910). It was sometime during this period that Walker purchased a residence on Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans is located in the Saint Lawrence River about east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The island was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage of French Canadians can trace ancestry to early residents of the island...
in the village of Sainte-Pétronille. From now on until his retirement, Walker would spend his summers in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and winters in his New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
studio.
Walker’s personal life was disastrous: his daughter died of diphtheria, his son of tuberculosis and his wife Jeanette, was committed to hospital permanently in 1914 due to paranoia. These tragedies do not seem influence his painting; Walker’s subject matter and style remained constant throughout this career without much variation.
Memberships and organizations
Walker was a member of several artists' organizations, including the American Watercolor Society (1882), the Royal Canadian Academy of Art (associate member in 1883, full member in 1913), the Society of American Artists (1887), the National Academy of DesignNational Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
(associate member in 1890, full member in 1891), and the British Institute of Watercolours (1901). He was a founding member of the Canadian Art Club, which elected him as its president in 1915. In 1928 he officially retired and moved to Sainte-Pétronille, Quebec. He died there on September 27, 1938.
Awards and prizes
- Gold medals, American Art Gallery, New York (1887, 1889)
- Evans Prize, American Watercolor Society (1888)
- Bronze medal, World Exposition, Paris, France (1889)
- Gold medal, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois (1893)
- Gold medal, Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, New York (1901)
- Gold medal, Charleston Exposition, Charleston, South Carolina (1902)
- Two gold medals (for oil and watercolor), Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri (1904)
- Medal of honor, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1906)
- First prize, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts (1907)
- Gold medal, Pan-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, California (1915)
He was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(1916) and Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
, Québec City (1938).
Selected works
- A Canadian Pastoral
- After the Wedding
- An Old Islander
- At Low Tide
- Ave Maria
- By the Fireside
- Canoe Cove
- Célestin
- Corner of Pig Lane in Quebec
- Corner of the Stable
- Corner of Sainte-Pétronille
- Deo Gratias
- De Profundis
- Église de l'Île-aux-Grues
- Fagot Gatherers
- Farhouse Interior
- First Snow
- Fishing Nets
- Girl with Turkeys
- Golden Dew
- Hauling the Log
- Hauling Wood
- Hay Making
- Horses at Through
- Ice Cutters
- Interior of a House
- Killing Pigs
- La Rencontre
- La soue à cochons
- La tonte du mouton
- Le vieux four
- Little White Pigs and their Mother
- Man Sawing Wood
- Maple Sugar Harvest
- Mare and Foal
- Milking Early Morn
- Milking on the Batture
- Milk Maid Île d'orléans
- Morning Île d'Orléans
- Moring Sainte-Pétronille
- Old House at Sainte-Famille
- Oxen drinking
- Oxen Ploughing
- Peasant Scrpaing Pig
- Pétronille de Saint-François
- Potato Gatherers
- Preparing the Feed
- Sheep Shearers
- The Harrow
- The Rainbow
- The Return
- The Royal Mail
- The Sheep Fold
- The Shepperdess
- The Sorcerers
- The Smugglers
- The Thresher
- The Tukey Girl
- Tournant la herse
- Turkeys
- Turning the Harrow
- Tree Fellers
- Unloading Hay Boat
- Vieille Maison à Ste-Famille
- Way Side Shrine at Saint-Laurent
- Winter
- Wood-Cutters
- Spring Forage
- The Bake Oven
- The Farmer's Wife
- The Gardener
External links
- Dozens of works of Horatio Walker reproduced at the Quebec History site of Marianopolis College
- Biography of Horatio Walker from Museum London
- Artist Gallery: Paintings and Drawings from the National Gallery of Canada
- Virtual Museums Canada Horizons Exhibit: Canadian and Russian Painters (1860–1940).