George Paginton

Canadian (1901-1988)

Born in Britain, Paginton spent his life in Canada. At the age of eighteen, he went to Toronto where he studied at the Port Hope Summer School run by J. W. Beatty for the Ontario College of Art. By 1927, Paginton had become proficient enough to obtain his lifetime job as an artist for the Toronto Star. By then, his interest in painting landscape was already well developed.

Paginton was an heir to the Group of Seven, whose members respected George Paginton for his enthusiasm and honest talent. He became familiar with a number of the Group members and for a time, shared space in the Studio Building where many of them worked.

Paginton painted in a number of Canadian locations, but his favorite subject was Québec’s Île d’Orléans, which he discovered in 1927. He painted the landscape in all seasons and affectionately recorded the rustic homes, barns, and churches for more than thirty years. It was his cardinal motif, despite his attachment to Québec City and the north shore of the St. Lawrence.