James Wilson Morrice (1865-1924), the first Canadian painter to win an international reputation, was a pioneer of "pure" painting as opposed to the painting of local scenery.

James Wilson Morrice was born in Montreal on Aug. 10, 1865, the son of David Morrice, a textile merchant. From 1882 to 1886 James attended the University of Toronto, and from there he went on to study law at Osgoode Hall. As a student, he began to paint landscapes in the Adirondacks and at Lake Champlain, and in 1888, while articled to a law firm, he exhibited a painting with the Royal Canadian Academy.

In 1889, with the encouragement of Sir William Van Horne, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway and a perceptive art collector, Morrice abandoned the practice of law for good and set sail for Europe. After a brief period of study at the Académie Julian in Paris, he pursued his own course...