Edward Scrope Shrapnel

Edward Scrope Shrapnel (1845–1920) was an English-born Canadian artist. After an earlier period spent in Quebec, his family settled in Orillia, Ontario. Having learned the basic art of drawing in the military, Shrapnel became adept in watercolour, his preferred medium. In the 1870s, he began contributing works to the Ontario Society of Artists. He was elected as an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1880. After a five-year stint as a drawing teacher for a women's college, he moved west to Victoria, British Columbia. Shrapnel was president of Victoria's first art association. His painting subject matter included landscape, still lifes, and genre, often incorporating scenes from Ontario and British Columbia. Biography Shrapnel was born on 12 January 1845, in Alverstoke, Hampshire. His grandfather was Henry Shrapnel, inventor of the shrapnel shell; his father was Henry Needham Scrope Shrapnel, a military officer with the rank of captain who was variously posted to India, Ireland, and Bermuda. In 1855, Edward's father was assigned to Quebec, his family accompanying him. Here young Edward first cultivated his love of the outdoors. Carrying on the family tradition, Edward served with the Victoria Rifles of Quebec for seven months in 1865–1866, helping to repel Irish Fenian raids. As a consequence of his officer training, Shrapnel learned how to draw accurately. After the border tensions eased, the Shrapnel family returned to Salisbury. In 1868, Edward married Edith Mary Neale, and they eventually had six daughters and one son. The family soon moved back to Canada, this time settling near Orillia, Ontario. Henry Shrapnel was a talented amateur artist, and Edward became proficient in the use of watercolour, which became his favourite medium. In Ontario, Edward participated each fall in duck and deer hunting, and on occasion engaged in wild pigeon shoots. His funeral notice described him as an "ardent sportsman". In 1872, Shrapnel was elected a member of the Ontario Society of Artists, and he contributed works to that organization until 1892. He became an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts when it was formed in 1880. For five years during the 1880s he held the position of drawing master at the Ontario Ladies' College in Whitby. In 1889, one of his paintings of dead game won first prize at the Toronto Industrial Exhibition.