Daniel Fowler (February 10, 1810 – September 14, 1894) was an English-born Canadian artist, writer and farmer. He is still considered one of Canada's finest artists working in

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

Biography

The son of Daniel Fowler and Mary Ann Pope, he was born in Camberwell and grew up in the village of Downe. He was educated at schools in Camberwell and

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sou ...

. He articled in law at the

Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buil ...

but abandoned law for art following his father's death in 1829. From 1831 to 1833, he studied with

James Duffield Harding James Duffield Harding (1798 – 4 December 1863) was a British landscape painter, lithographer and author of drawing manuals. His use of tinted papers and opaque paints in watercolour proved influential. Life Harding was born at Deptford in ...

. By 1832, he was giving lessons in drawing. During a tour of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

in 1834-35, he contracted

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...

and convalesced in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He returned to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, resuming teaching and painting; Fowler exhibited his work at the Society of British Artists and the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purp ...

. For the sake of his health, in 1843, he emigrated to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of t ...

with his family, settling on a farm on

Amherst Island Amherst Island is located in Lake Ontario, west of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Amherst Island, being wholly in Lake Ontario, is upstream, above the St Lawrence River Thousand Islands. The Island is part of Loyalist Township in Lennox and Addi ...

, near Kingston. He abandoned painting for 14 years to learn farming and work on improvements to his house. In 1857, he travelled to England to visit his mother. This trip reacquainted him with art and inspired him to resume painting on his return. He won several prizes at the Upper Canada Provincial Exhibition in 1863; he continued to show his work there until 1868. Fowler also exhibited with the Art Association of Montreal, the Society of Canadian Artists, the American Society of Painters in Water Colors and the Ontario Society of Artists. In 1876, he received a medal at the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, the first international prize awarded to a Canadian. In 1880, he became a charter member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor Genera ...

. Fowler also contributed articles to various periodicals including ''

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...

'', '' Chambers’s Journal'', '' All the Year Round'' and the ''Canadian Monthly and National Review''. He also wrote an autobiography which remained unpublished at his death. In 1979, it was published as ''Daniel Fowler of Amherst Island, 1810–1894''. In 1835, he married Elizabeth Gale. The couple had three daughters and two sons. His son Reginald served in the Ontario assembly. He died at home on Amherst Island at the age of 84. His art is included in the collections of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...

, the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Be ...

and the Royal Ontario Museum. A historical plaque was erected by the Ontario Heritage Trust on the site of Fowler's home on Amherst Island.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Daniel 1810 births 1894 deaths Canadian watercolourists Canadian journalists Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario