Provenance

Estate of the artist

Roberts Gallery, Toronto

Private collection, Toronto

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Toronto’s “St. John’s Ward” was a colourful and dense collection of homes and shelters, the area roughly bound by Yonge Street, University Avenue, Queen Street and College Street. The Ward was commonly settled by immigrants arriving in the city (and frequently, the country) for the first time. The Ward captured the attention (and often the sympathies) of artists based in Toronto, Sheppard and his contemporaries (including Lawren Harris) depicted the character of the region and evoked early and imperishably beautiful images of the life within the Ward.