Charles Walter Simpson (Canadian artist)

Charles Walter Simpson (1878–1942) was a Canadian artist and illustrator.

Life and Work

Simpson was born in Montreal, Quebec on 16 April 1878^[1] He died in Montreal on 16 September 1942.^[1]

Beginning in January 1918, he served with Canadian forces in the First World War. He was one of the first group of "official war artists"—Lord Beaverbrook arranged for Simpson, along with Frederick Varley, J.W. Beatty and Maurice Cullen to be sent overseas to record Canada's participation in the conflict.^[2]

Simpson was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts^[3] His diploma submission, Indian Summer, Montreal Harbour was deposited in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada in 1921.^[4]

Simpson worked as an illustrator, creating images for books commissioned by various firms to promote their industries or commemorate their achievements. 'Legends of the St. Lawrence'(1926) by Katherine Hale was commissioned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company to be used as a luxury gift for children who were travelling on the company's around the world tours.^[5]

Selected works

Simpson's published works encompass 43 works in 48 publications in 2 languages and 128 library holdings.^[6]

• 1940 — The Mechanics' Institute of Montreal: One Hundredth Anniversary 1840-1940
• 1936 — Canadian Pacific Rockies by Betty Thornley
• 1936 — From Rags to Writing Paper: a Series of Twelve Sketches by Charles W Simpson
• 1933 — Canadian Cities of Romance by Katherine Hale
• 1932 — August Sixth, Nineteen Thirty Two, the Opening of the Welland Ship Canal: a Canadian Conception, a Canadian Achievement by Canada
• 1929 — Croquis montréalais by Victor Morin
• 1926 — Legends of the St. Lawrence by Katherine Hale
• 1925 — Légendes du Saint-Laurent by Amelia Beers (Warnock) Garvin

Gallery

• 

  The skeleton of La Corriveau, in her iron cage, terrifying a traveller, 1926

• 

  Lower Canada Legislative Assembly in 1772 (Chapel of Bishop's Palace, Quebec City), 1927

See also

• Canadian official war artists
• War artist
• War art

Notes

1. "Charles W. Simpson". National Gallery of Canada. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
2. Davis, Ann (1992). The Logic of Ecstasy: Canadian Mystical Painting, 1920–1940. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division. p. 30. ISBN 9780802068613. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
3. "Members since 1880". Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
4. "Indian Summer, Montreal Harbour". National Gallery of Canada. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
5. Gail Edwards; Judith Saltman (2010). Picturing Canada: A History of Canadian Children's Illustrated Books and Publishing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 39. ISBN 9780802085405. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
6. WorldCat Identities Archived December 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.: Simpson, Charles W. (Charles Walter) 1878-1942

References

• Davis, Ann (1992). The Logic of Ecstasy: Canadian Mystical Painting, 1920–1940. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802059161; ISBN 9780802068613; OCLC 26256269

Further reading

• National Gallery of Canada, Library. (1977). Charles Walter Simpson: documentation file by National Gallery of Canada. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada. OCLC 071763310

External links

• Canadian Pacific archives: "Departure time" (BR102), "Empress route" (BR103)