Thomas Mower Martin
Still Life, Dead Ducks, date unknown
oil on canvas
38.1 x 48.3 cm
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. E. Jacques, 1961
Thomas Mower Martin was born in London England in 1838 and emigrated to Canada with his wife in 1862. The couple built a small house in the Muskoka’s. Farming proved impossible because of the poor quality of the land and so the family moved and settled in Toronto, where Mower Martin soon became an established professional painter.
Mostly self-taught, Mower painted landscapes, wildlife, still lifes, and some portraits.
He was a founding member of the Ontario Society of Artists in 1872 and was the Director of the Ontario Government Art School from 1877 to 1879. He was also a founder of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1880.