Joseph Sydney Hallam, 1898 – 1953
Born in England, Canadian artist Joseph Sydney Hallam came to Canada with his family at the age of 12. He studied art at the Hamilton Technical School, the Toronto Central Technical School, and took evening classes in anatomy at the Ontario College of Art under J.W. Beatty and private figure classes under Frederick Varley.
In ‘The Ploughman’, Hallam tackles another ubiquitous Canadian subject appropriate to the period of the Victory garden; that of the horse and plough. The team follows the gentle undulation of the land, and the bright green fresh spring growth paints the group of elm trees in the distance while a big dynamic blue sky filled with white clouds holds the promise of seasonal rains, to nourish both the family, and the nation.