(1880-1895)
This period saw London become a powerhouse of artistic effort on the local, regional and national scene. The city was now the home of a major art training facility, the provincially-funded Western School of Art and Design; had produced a number of nationally significant artists: Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith, James Griffiths, Paul Peel and Julian Ruggles Seavey; promoted and sustained several art clubs: The Western Art League and the Women's Art Club; developed annual exhibitions at the Western Fair and the League and saw the rise of local commercial galleries like Hoods and O.B. Graves. Art activities stimulated community interest in collecting and even provided a number of commercial and teaching positions for the employment of artists. It was a dynamic but brief era which would not be duplicated again in London until the middle of the next century!
Several important artists were resident in London or used it as a home base at this time. Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith, Mary Dignam, John Powell Hunt, Henry Nesbitt McEvoy, Paul Peel, Julian Ruggles Seavey were living here. Older earlier residents like Charles Chapman, James Hamilton, James and John Griffiths, William Lees Judson and John Robert Peel continued to play crucial roles too. Others were products of the region or had close connections with the city: Lucius O'Brien, George Agnew Reid, Horatio Walker, Homer Watson and Robert Heard Whale.
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