Charles William Jefferys

Charles William Jefferys who signed his name C. W. Jefferys (August 25, 1869 – October 8, 1951) was an English-born Canadian artist, author and teacher best known for his historical illustrations.

Early life Jefferys was born in Rochester, Kent, to Charles Thomas Jefferys and Ellen Kennard. He moved with his family first to Philadelphia in 1875, then to Hamilton, Ontario, in 1878, and finally to Toronto around 1880. From 1893 to 1901, he worked for the New York Herald.

Jefferys created a series of illustrations and essays for the Toronto Star Weekly, which in 1920 were published as Dramatic Episodes in Canada's Story. The following year, he was chosen by the Ontario government to illustrate a textbook, Ontario Public School History of Canada, written by George Wrong.

Along with Ivor Lewis and other artists, Jefferys co-founded the Graphic Arts Club (later named the Canadian Society of Graphic Art), which by the 1940s became one of the primary artists' groups in Canada. As well, from 1912 to 1939, he taught painting and drawing in the Department of Architecture at the University of Toronto.

During World War I, he was commissioned by the Canadian War Records department to paint soldiers training at Camp Petawawa and Niagara.

In 1926, he was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He also was a member of the Ontario Society of Artists and the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour.

Death and legacy Soon after Jefferys's death in 1952, more than 1,000 of his drawings were sold to the Imperial Oil Company, which in 1972 donated the collection to Library and Archives Canada. quotes him as saying,

"If my work has stirred any interest in our country and its past, I am more than paid".

Jefferys received numerous awards, including an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Queen’s University in 1934. C. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute, a public high school in Toronto, is named for him. the National Gallery of Canada,

Gallery