John William Beatty

Beatty was a friend to the members of the Group of Seven, he often made sketching trips with the artists in Northern Ontario. His interest in painting the rugged Canadian landscape and making trips to paint studies en plein aire make him a precursor and early influence upon the Group of Seven.

J.W. Beatty was born and educated in Toronto, Ontario. He did not work as an artist until later in life, when he quit his job as a firefighter and traveled to Paris to study painting. On his return to Toronto, he opened a studio and was a teacher of art. He returned to Europe in 1906-8 to revisit Paris and make sketching trips to Holland, Belgium Italy and Spain. He was appointed the official war artist for the Canadian War Memorials in 1917 and went overseas once again. A teacher at the Ontario College of Art, Beatty returned to Ontario after the war where he remained for the remainder of his life.