William Armstrong
William Armstrong (1822-1914) was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1822, the seventh son of a general in the Royal Irish Artillery. Apprenticing with the Chief Engineer of the Midland Railways in England, he recognized early on that greater opportunities were available in the colonies. William Armstrong commenced his working life as a civil engineer and artist and expanded his interests to include photography and teaching. Armstrong immigrated to Canada in 1851 and established himself in Toronto. He arrived at the beginning of the Canadian railway boom and found work with three railways, eventually becoming a partner in the firm, Armstrong, Beere and Hime, Civil Engineers, Draughtsmen, and Photographers. He was also a drawing instructor at the Toronto Normal Model School, School of Practical Science (University of Toronto) and the Toronto Collegiate School (now Jarvis Collegiate). Armstrong was a prolific artist, and his career and personal interests are well documented in his art. The paintings in this exhibition depict life in Toronto and northern Ontario in the mid 19th century.
W. Martha E. Cooke, W. H. Coverdale Collection of Canadiana: Paintings, Water-colours and Drawings. (Manoir Richelieu Collection) Ottawa, 1983
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