Watercolour Painting of a Floral Still Life Signed and Dated by Canadian Artist Owen Staples 1938

A gorgeous watercolour floral still life by a historically famous Canadian artist that influenced and was associated with the formation of the Group of Seven. Owen ‘Poe’ Staples (born Owen Staples, September 3, 1866 – December 6, 1949) was a Canadian painter, etcher, pastelist, political cartoonist, author, musician and naturalist. Staples’ family arrived in Hamilton, Ontario from England in 1872. Abandoned by their father, the family moved to the US in 1876. After Staples’ mother died in 1881, he was hired as a messenger boy at the Rochester Art Club where he was given the nickname “Poe” and began his art training, moving back and forth between the US and Ontario for many years. 

From 1888 to 1908, Staples worked for the Telegram becoming a well-known artist, illustrating a number of books, executing commissioned murals, and producing a vast oeuvre of paintings, watercolours and etchings.  Staples was commissioned to paint several large canvases of historical subjects, seven of these works now hang in Toronto’s New City Hall.

From 1905 Staples associated with Tom Thompson exploring and painting the Don River Valley, becoming a major influence on the Toronto “art and music” scene. Staples was a member of the OSA (Ontario Society of Artists 1889), a founding member of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and a major supporter of the Arts and Letters Club. The “Studio”, completed in 1904, was designed by Staples and having regular visitors of patrons and artists, from which the famous Group of Seven was born.

The frame is a lovely angular wood design with interior gold trim.

Dimensions: Image: height 8 inches x width 6 inches , Frame: height 14 inches x width 12.25 inches