CNHS - Charles William Jefferys 1869 - 1951 ~ Toronto - Canadian National Historic Sites on Waymarking.com

Charles William Jefferys 1869 - 1951

Writer, artist, and illustrator of historical novels and textbooks, Charles Jefferys emigrated to Canada from England in 1879. After studying at the Toronto Art Students League, he joined the New York Herald as an illustrator in 1892, but returned to Canada in 1900 to work as a freelance artist for the Globe and the Daily Star. From 1911 to 1939 he taught drawing and painting at the University of Toronto. He painted landscapes and historical subjects across Canada, but is best known for his carefully researched drawings, such as those in his three volume Picture Gallery of Canadian History.

From: Wikipedia

Charles William Jefferys

Charles William Jefferys (August 25, 1869 – October 8, 1951) was a Canadian painter, illustrator, author, and teacher best known as a historical illustrator.

Biography Born in Rochester, England, Jefferys arrived in Toronto, Ontario (after living in Philadelphia and Hamilton, Ontario) with his family around 1880. After attending school, he apprenticed with the Toronto Lithography Company from 1885 to 1890. From 1889 to 1892 he worked for the Toronto Globe as an illustrator and artist. From 1893 to 1901, he worked for the New York Herald. Returning to Toronto, he became a magazine and book illustrator. Along with Ivor Lewis and other artists, Jefferys co-founded the Graphic Arts Club (later named the Canadian Society of Graphic Art), which by the 1940s became the primary artists' group in Canada. As well, from 1912 to 1939 he taught painting and drawing in the Department of Architecture at the University of Toronto.

During World War I he was commissioned by the Canadian War Records department to paint soldiers training at Camp Petawawa and Niagara.

Jefferys had an intense interest in history and his reputation rests principally on his accurate and meticulous portrayal of early Canadian life. The best known collection of his historical sketches is "The Picture Gallery of Canadian History".

A plaque in his honour quotes him, "If my work has stirred any interest in our country and its past, I am more than paid."

C. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute, a public high school in Toronto, is named in his honour.

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