Robert Ford Gagen (British/Canadian 1847-1926)

Evening in the Selkirks
oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right "Gagen 11"
Size: 15 ¼ h x 20 ¼ w in (with frame 22 x 27 in)
J21234                

uno@langmann.com
604 736 8825 or 1 800 730 8825

Born in London, England in 1847, Robert Ford Gagen immigrated to Ontario with his family in 1862. He studied under William Nicoll Cresswell who owned a farm nearby and who encouraged him to move to Toronto where he studied under George Gilbert. Gagen joined Notman and Fraser’s art department in Toronto, working under the direction of John Fraser who encouraged and advised the young artist. Gagen spent nine years with the firm from 1873-1892 painting portraits and miniatures on a photographic base. He emerged as a skilled landscape painter, drawing his inspiration from the vast Canadian landscape. He was a founding member of the Ontario Society of Artists in 1872, where he exhibited for more than 50 years, an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1880, and held significant roles in numerous cultural organizations.

Gagen travelled extensively across the country, travelling from the Rocky and Selkirk Mountains to the Atlantic, as well as abroad to the US, the UK and Europe. In his later years he travelled regularly to the Bay of Fundy sketching and gathering materials to paint in his studio.