C.W.Jeffreys

Battle of Lundy's Lane: Archives of Ontario


C. W. Jefferys (1869-1951)
Charles William Jefferys is perhaps best known for his historical illustrations in school textbooks, magazines and newspapers. However, he was also an accomplished landscape painter, achieving particular renown for his prairie canvases. Born in England in 1869, Jefferys’ family came to Canada via Philadelphia in 1881. While ill health prevented Jefferys from going overseas as an official war artist, both he and Dorothy Stevens received commissions to document war preparations on the home front. Jefferys’ work focused on training camp activities in Petawawa, Niagara and Toronto. Although the artist had shown little interest in printmaking, his early experience as an apprentice at the Toronto Lithographic Company would prove useful in the execution of the transfer lithographs he made for the Canadian War Memorials Fund in 1919. Today, the life and work of this prolific artist is commemorated by an historic plaque located on the site of Jefferys’ house and studio in North York, Ontario.

Text extracted from the Ontario Archives. Click here.

Portrait from the CW Jefferys website: Please click here

See, Wikipedia article. Click here.