William Blair Bruce

Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1859. Died in Stockholm, Sweden in 1906. William Blair Bruce, who was trained at the Hamilton Mechanics Institute (1877) began working for an architectural firm (1878–1880). In 1881, he left for Paris, where he decided to devote himself to painting. He studied at the Julian Academy with Fleury and Bouguereau (1881–1882). He spent time with a colony of English and American artists in the village of Barbizon and was influenced by impressionism. He met Swedish sculptor Karoline Benedicks and married her in 1888. From that time onward, they spent their summers in Sweden and their winters in France. They founded a small artists colony on Gotland Island to the south-east of Stockholm in the Baltic Sea. After his death, a number of his works were given to the future Art Gallery of Hamilton.

Works by this artist
	Giverny, France (1887)