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Charles William Jefferys

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Canadian artist. For the school, seeC. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute.
Charles William Jefferys
RCA
Born(1869-08-25)August 25, 1869
Rochester, Kent
DiedOctober 8, 1951(1951-10-08)(aged 82)
Toronto,Ontario
NationalityCanadian
RelativesHarold Gordon Stacey(son-in-law)

Charles William JefferysRCAwho signed his nameC. W. Jefferys(August 25, 1869 – October 8, 1951) was an English-born Canadian artist, author and teacher best known for his historical illustrations.[1]

Early life

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Jefferys was born inRochester, Kentto Charles Thomas Jefferys and Ellen Kennard. He moved with his family first toPhiladelphiain 1875,[2]then toHamilton, Ontarioin 1878,[3]and finally to Toronto around 1880.[1]There, he attended school and was apprenticed with the York Lithography Company from 1885 to 1890.

Career

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From 1889 to 1892, Jefferys worked for theToronto Globeas an illustrator and artist. He produced artwork for several printing companies.[4][5]From 1893 to 1901, he worked for theNew York Herald.[1]Returning to Toronto, he became a newspaper, magazine and book illustrator, appearing in numerous publications, includingHardware Merchandising.[6]

Jefferys created a series of illustrations and essays for theToronto Star Weekly,which in 1920 were published asDramatic Episodes in Canada's Story.[7]The following year, he was chosen by the Ontario government to illustrate a textbook,Ontario Public School History of Canada,written by George Wrong.[8]

Along withIvor Lewisand other artists, Jefferys co-founded theGraphic Arts Club(later named the Canadian Society of Graphic Art), which by the 1940s became one of the primary artists' groups in Canada. As well, from 1912 to 1939, he taught painting and drawing in the Department of Architecture at theUniversity of Toronto.

DuringWorld War I,he was commissioned by the Canadian War Records department to paint soldiers training at Camp Petawawa and Niagara.[4]Jefferys had an interest in history, and he produced accurate and meticulous portrayals of early Canadian life. The best known collection of his historical sketches is the three volumeThe Picture Gallery of Canadian History(c. 1942–1960).[9]

In 1926, he was made a member of theRoyal Canadian Academy of Arts.[10]He also was a member of theOntario Society of Artistsand theCanadian Society of Painters in Water Colour.[1]Jefferys was a founding member of theArts and Letters Club of Torontoand was its president from 1923 to 1924.[11]

Death and legacy

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Soon after Jefferys's death in 1952, more than 1,000 of his drawings were sold to theImperial Oil Company,which in 1972 donated the collection toLibrary and Archives Canada.[12]A plaque at 4111 Yonge Street, where he died,[13]quotes him as saying,

"If my work has stirred any interest in our country and its past, I am more than paid".[12]

Jefferys received numerous awards, including an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Queen’s University in 1934.[14]C. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute,a public high school in Toronto, is named for him.[14]There are works by him in the art collection of theRoyal Military College of Canada[15]theNational Gallery of Canada,[14]and theArt Gallery of Ontario.[1]A statue of Jefferys, created by Adrienne Alison, has been installed in York Mills Valley Park.[12]Jeffreys has been designated as an Historic Person in the Directory of Federal Heritage Designations.[16]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdeBradfield, Helen (1970).Art Gallery of Ontario: the Canadian Collection.Toronto: McGraw Hill.ISBN0070925046.Retrieved2021-04-02.
  2. ^https://ago.ca/sites/default/files/SC038.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  3. ^https://ago.ca/sites/default/files/SC038.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  4. ^abDavid Tatham (2006).North American Prints, 1913-1947: An Examination at Century's End.Syracuse University Press. p. 76.ISBN978-0-8156-3071-5.
  5. ^"Drawing".The Canadian Encyclopedia.RetrievedOctober 8,2019.
  6. ^"Hardware Merchandising and C. W. Jefferys".Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.Retrieved2022-03-09.
  7. ^Paul Simpson-Housley; Glen Norcliffe (1 September 1992)."3".A Few Acres of Snow: Literary and Artistic Images of Canada.Dundurn. pp. 27, 38.ISBN978-1-55488-050-8.
  8. ^"Historicist: Sketching Cultural Nationalism".Torontoist,July 18, 2009. By Kevin Plummer
  9. ^Dominick Grace; Eric Hoffman (20 November 2017).The Canadian Alternative: Cartoonists, Comics, and Graphic Novels.University Press of Mississippi. p. 47.ISBN978-1-4968-1512-5.
  10. ^"Members since 1880".Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Archived fromthe originalon 26 May 2011.Retrieved11 September2013.
  11. ^"Club Presidents".Arts and Letters Club of Toronto.Retrieved2022-03-10.
  12. ^abcScott Kennedy (4 March 2017).Toronto Local History 3-Book Bundle: Don Mills / 200 Years at St. John's York Mills / Willowdale.Dundurn. p. 1150.ISBN978-1-4597-3832-4.
  13. ^John Robert Colombo (1 January 1984).Canadian Literary Landmarks.Dundurn. p. 205.ISBN978-1-4597-1798-5.
  14. ^abc"C. W. Jefferys".www.gallery.ca.National Gallery of Canada.Retrieved2021-04-03.
  15. ^Kamille Parkinson, PhD 'An Impressive Art Collection at RMCC' (Kingston, E-veritas, June 25, 2012
  16. ^"Directory of Federal Heritage Designations".Parks Canada.Retrieved2022-05-29.

Bibliography

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