Provenance

From the estate of P.C. Sheppard

Peter Clapham Sheppard was born in Toronto on October 21, 1879. Sheppard began his career in commercial art, apprenticing at a Toronto lithography firm before pursuing formal training from 1911 to 1914 at the Central Ontario School of Art and Industrial Design. There, Sheppard studied under notable Canadian artists William Cruikshank, George Agnew Reid, and J.W. Beatty. By 1917, Sheppard had committed himself fully to painting, with a particular interest in urban and industrial subjects drawn from the cityscapes of Toronto, Montreal, and New York.

During his time in New York, Sheppard was influenced by the work of American painter John Sloan and the Ashcan School’s realism and focus on everyday urban life. Sloan’s depictions of working-class neighbourhoods and street scenes left a lasting impression on Sheppard, reinforcing his interest in portraying the modern city. Sheppard’s impressionist technique—evident in this vibrant plein-air sketch of the Toronto waterfront—allowed him to capture the effects of light and atmosphere of early Toronto.