Item - Sullivan, Michael - photo

William Sawyer was born to John and Agnes Brown Sawyer in Montreal, Quebec, November 9, 1820. His academic background is unknown, however it seems likely that he had some form of education given his level of literacy evident in later years. He found his first employment with a Montreal law firm at the age of fourteen. By the early 1840's Sawyer opened a studio in Montreal in the Moyer Building and sought commissions for portraits from the local citizenry. Although business was steady, it was not sufficient for Sawyer who was likely responsible for helping to support his step-mother (Ann Sutherland) and half-sister Elizabeth Sarah. In order to garner more business Sawyer became an itinerant painter travelling the north shore of Lake Ontario, ranging as far west as Toronto, Sawyer stopped at all the major centres in between.

Exhibition and promotion was a necessity for the itinerant painter. Sawyer exhibited at the Montreal Society of Artists in 1847, in the company of Krieghoff and several other artists. In 1867 he exhibited with the Society of Canadian Artists in Montreal, and in 1872 he sent works to the first exhibition of the Ontario Society of Artists at Toronto.

During Sawyer's travels, he met Eliza Jane Baxter in Kingston, whom he married November 18, 1851. With this added financial responsibility, Sawyer continued to travel, occasionally moving further afield. In 1852 Sawyer travelled to New York with his new wife but quickly returned and set up a studio in Kingston in the Gas Office Building. The studio did not last long and the Sawyers returned to Montreal in the same year. The Sawyers remained in Montreal until 1855 when Sawyer, likely due to Eliza's desire to be close to her family, permanently relocated in Kingston. Although settled in Kingston, Sawyer continued to work as an itinerant artist travelling along the north and south shores of Lake Ontario. Having some level of success during this time allowed Sawyer to travel to Europe in 1862 where he was able to view the work of some important portrait artists in Scotland, England, France, and Belgium.

Upon his return Sawyer divided his time between Kingston and Montreal. In Montreal he partnered with Edwin R. Turner in an “Art and Photographic Studio”, acting as both a painter and a photographer. In 1863 Sawyer’s reputation brought him a commission to paint a portrait of John A. Macdonald for the Kingston city hall , where several of his portraits of mayors were already hanging. His commissions extended to three speakers of the Senate, who engaged him to paint their portraits for the Library of Parliament, and to Sir William Edmond Logan, William Molson, Charles Tupper, and William Workman, as well as to senators Frank Smith and Robert Duncan Wilmot.

William Sawyer continued to be an active photographer, painter, and promoter of his work, until his death at age 69, in Kingston on December 9, 1889. Sawyer was survived by his wife, six sons and three daughters.