Grey Music (1959), oil on masonite, 91.4 x 121.9 cm., gift of Robert Simpson Company, Toronto, 1975 Schooner (1949), oil on canvas, 40.6 x 45.7 cm., Art Fund, 1952 Horseback in the Bois (1957), oil on canvas, 101.6 x 127 cm., Art Fund, 1958 Clare Bice (1908-1976) was born in Durham, Ontario and died at St. John's, Newfoundland. His family moved to London when he was a young child and he graduated from the University of Western Ontario. His early art training was through private lessons with Eva Bradshaw and evening classes at H. B. Beal Technical School. This was followed by two New York study periods: first at the Art Students League and then at the Central School of Art. Bice always returned to London where he was deeply involved with the Western Art League and the local art scene. In 1940, he was selected as the first curator of the new art museum, a position which he held until his retirement in 1972 except for his wartime military service. As curator, he responsible for a number of key innovations which included the first public gallery art rental program, and the "Pictures in the School" Project. He continued to paint, exhibit widely, write and illustrate a number of children's books and serve on several important bodies such as President of the Royal Canadian Academy for four years. His painting was principally in oil using as themes genre, landscape and portrait subjects in an academic style which later moved toward a period of semi-abstraction. For his many local and national art efforts, he received numerous honours culminating in a major national touring retrospective. (Biography)