William Pope

William Pope (8 January 1811 – 1902) was an English-Canadian naturalist and amateur painter who lived most of his life in Ontario, Canada. Notable wildlife artist Fenwick Lansdowne stated that Pope "gave us the first comprehensive, well executed pictorial record of Canadian birds." According to Pope's biographer, Pope contributed "a great deal" to Canada's settler heritage through his paintings and journals.

Pope's watercolours of birds are often compared to the works of John James Audubon, though Pope's works were smaller in size and ambition. He later began searching for birds in the backwoods of Upper Canada between 1834 and 1835. By 1847, he had painted almost 100 works.

A commemorative plaque about Pope was installed by the Ontario Heritage Foundation in the County of Norfolk, Ontario.

Gallery