Brief Biography-Originally from Greenock, Scotland, William Brymner spent his youth in Melbourne, Quebec. The family moved to Montreal when he was seventeen, which became his home for the remainder of his life, except for twelve years in Ottawa and visiting Paris.
He studied at the Académie Julian under William Adolphe Bouguereau and Gustave Boulanger in Paris, amongst other French artists. The work of Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier had a strong influence on him. He also studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
Brymner excelled in impressionism and became one of Canada’s foremost art teachers as Director of the School of the Art Association of Montreal from 1886 to 1921. He travelled Europe extensively, painting wherever he went into his retirement years.