William George Richardson Hind

William George Richardson Hind (1833-1889) was born in Nottingham England. He immigrated to Canada in 1851 where he joined his brother Henry Youle Hind, who had previously settled in Toronto. Between 1851 and 1857, William worked as a drawing master at the Toronto Normal School and he maintained a studio in Toronto. He returned to England temporarily and was back in Canada within a few years. In 1861, he joined his brother Henry, on the Labrador Exploring Expedition, as the official artist where he drew landscapes, trees, flowers and recorded the customs of the local Indians. These were incorporated in an accompanying report in 1863. In 1862, William travelled to British Columbia to join in the gold rush, eventually ending up in Victoria. During his trek, he sketched constantly. After a couple of years, Hind moved to Nova Scotia, where his brother, Henry was living. There he worked as a draughtsman for the International Railway Company and continued to sketch scenes of Maritime life. Originally intended to document places and people for ethnographical reports, Hind’s works exceeded this function and are valued as fine works of art.

Link to bio from Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

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