Arthur Lismer, Visionary Art Educator

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

Until the publication of this book, artist and educator Arthur Lismer
was better known for his association with the Group of Seven than for
his initiatives in teaching art.

Born to middle-class parents in Sheffield, England, Lismer immigrated
to Toronto where he was befriended by members of the Group of Seven
before moving to Halifax to head the Victoria School of Art. In later
years, he worked for the Ontario College of Art, the Art Gallery of
Ontario, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts School of Art and Design.
Grigor outlines in fascinating detail Lismer’s training in art, his
early philosophy of art education, his development as an educator, his
influence in museum education, his work as a touring art educator, and
his mature years as “a grand old man” of pedagogy. A seven-page
chronology presents highlights of the artist’s life.

This solidly researched and eminently readable book establishes Lismer
as an iconic Canadian artist and art educator; it is a milestone
contribution to Canadian art history and biography.