LUCIUSO'BRIEN
(1832 - 1899)

Lucius O'Brien was born in Shanty Bay, Ontario - a small town on the North-West arm of Lake Simcoe. He was trained as a professional draftsman but never practiced. In 1852, he won two prizes in the provincial exhibition in the professional category and began doing print and illustration for local magazines. In 1858, he was handed over the job of running a family business in Orilla, Ontario, so he settled down, got married and travelled. In 1872, the Ontario Society of Artists was founded, and O'Brien returned to professional landscape painting.

He became vice president of the OSA and stayed there until 1880 when he became the first president of Royal Canadian Academy. Even though he started professional landscape painting when he was 41, later than most artists, he quickly became a major force. He was the Canadian artist with a style closest to 'luminism', a style popular in the States, which can be recognized by the subtle colouring, atmosphere and the use of light to give the scene a spiritual force. He was one of the first painters of his generation to visit the Rockies, part of his growing vision that included the entire nation.

A Prospector's Camp (1887)

Niagara (1892)





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