Thomas Harrison Wilkinson

Wilkinson (1847-1929) was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England and at the age of 16 he immigrated to London, Ontario. In 1872 he married Carrie Cochran and around 1882 they moved to Toronto. Although little is known about his academic training as an artist, he excelled in landscape painting with over 80 exhibition records between 1881 to 1899. He exhibited with the Ontario Society of Artists from 1888 to 1897 and became an elected member in 1891. In 1888 and 1891 he exhibited two paintings with the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. His paintings were also shown at Toronto Industrial Exhibition, now known as the CNE, from 1891 to 1899. His paintings are a record of his worldly travels to places like Italy, Spain and England, especially his native Yorkshire. Wilkinson travelled to Philadelphia around 1900 leaving a historical treasure recorded by his watercolours of Germantown and other colonial sites. He also painted areas in Washington, New York and Richmond, Virginia.