Who was C.W. Jefferys?
Yes, I know the name rings a bell. Yesterday a 15 year old boy was gunned down in the very same hallway I use to hangout in during my lunch hours when I went to high school there many years ago. Here is a different side to the name we are going to hear for the next couple of days…
C.W. Jefferys (1869-1951) was the first artist to take Canadian history and make it leap off the page and come to life. Before Jefferys, history was written down, but never illustrated in such a dramatic and refreshing way. As well as being a newspaper illustrator and historian, Jefferys was also an accomplished landscape artist and political cartoonist.
An inspiration for many artists, Jefferys played a hand in forming Canada’s most famous group of landscape painters, the Group of Seven. Even today, Jefferys remains Canada’s most reproduced artist and has influenced the work of Order of Canada recipient artist, Tony Urquhart, and comic book writer and illustrator, Chester Brown.
Through the artist’s own words, as read by passionate Canadian actor, Eric Peterson, expert opinions, and personal accounts from his daughters and grandson, this documentary provides a comprehensive look into Jefferys’ life and work and explains why he remains relevant for anyone interested in Canada’s political and cultural past.
The Battle of Seven Oaks - a simulated portrayal by C. W. Jefferys, from the Picture Gallery of Canadian History, Vol. II.
Click HERE to watch his biography
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I wondered who he was. His illustrations seem to leap off the page. It’s amazing how an artist can do that with just pen and ink or charcoal and paper. Thanks for telling us about him.