Frederick A. Verner

Born in Ontario, Frederick Arthur Verner studied at Heatherley’s Academy in London starting in 1856. He served in the British military, first in the Yorkshire militia in 1858 and later in the British Legion in 1860. After returning to Canada in 1862, Verner worked as a photograph colorist but devoted much of his time to sketching the wilderness and local Native American communities. He co-founded the Ontario Society of Artists in 1872 and exhibited regularly with the group until moving to England in 1880, where his romantic Native American genre scenes gained popularity. Verner continued to create in this style, frequently returning to Canada for source material. His work remains celebrated for capturing the spirit of the Canadian wilderness and its Indigenous peoples.