C.W. Jefferys: Picturing Canada

Documentary on artist C. W. Jefferys launches at the Arts and Letters Club Wednesday, June 15 and premieres on Bravo! Sunday, July 17 at 8 p.m.

Great Canadian actor plays great Canadian artist

Passionate Canadian actor, Eric Peterson, is the voice of C.W. Jefferys and reads from the artists' personal letters and journals.

C.W. Jefferys at the Arts and Letters Club
M.O. Hammond, photographer

Jefferys was a founding member of Toronto’s Arts and Letters Club in 1908, a popular meeting place for Canadian artists, including the emerging Group of Seven. The Group also met on Jefferys’ front lawn in North York. Despite the fact the Jefferys inspired and mentored them – it was the Group of Seven, without Jefferys, that is recognized as the seminal creators of Canadian art.

The March of the Rebels Upon Toronto in December, 1837
Courtesy Government of Ontario Art Collection

C.W. Jefferys was able to imagine the past and create a lasting impression of this country. One that remains etched in the mindset of modern Canada.

Filming a Jefferys mural at the National Archives in Ottawa

Filming for C.W. Jefferys: Picturing Canada took the CineFocus crew across Ontario, to Quebec's Richelieu Valley, the Qu'Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan and to Alberta.

Jefferys  illustration from The Moon
Courtesy, Toronto Public Library

Jefferys worked for the Toronto Globe and New York Herald where he’d report and illustrate newsworthy events in vivid detail. He also worked as a political cartoonist for the satirical magazine, The Moon and The Toronto Star.