1948 — 30" x 40"
Sydney Hollinger Watson, 1911 – 1981
Canadian artist Sydney Hollinger Watson was born and educated in Toronto, and was a scholarship student at the Central Technical School from 1926–1928, though he was mainly self-taught. In 1946 he joined the Ontario College of Art as a teacher, becoming Vice-Principal of the Design Department from 1949 to 1954, and finally Principal of the College from 1955 to 1970. During his tenure as Principal, the Ontario College of Art expanded its visual art disciplines and added three new buildings, becoming Canada’s top art school.
In ‘St. Lawrence Town’, Watson reminds of us of our strong French Canadian Catholic roots – a school on the crest of the hill overlooks the town, with a duo of nuns in long black capes with white flowing habits making their way along the road. A train sits on the rail, ready to take freight or people to the next populated town.