Charles Walter Simpson
Charles Walter Simpson (1878–1942) was a Canadian artist and illustrator.
Also recorded as Charles Walter I Simpson
Charles Walter Simpson

Charles Walter Simpson · Library and Archives Canada does not allow free use of its copyrighted works. See Category:Images from Library and Archives Canada. · Public domain
- Name
- Charles Walter Simpson
- Born
- 16 April 1878
- Birthplace
- Montreal, Quebec
- Died
- 16 September 1942
- Known for
- artist and illustrator Charles Walter Simpson (1878–1942) was a Canadian artist and illustrator.
- Nationality
- Canada
- Occupation
- painter · illustrator
- Teachers
- Maurice Galbraith Cullen · Edmond Dyonnet · William Brymner
- Honours
- Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
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Documentary summary
Charles Walter Simpson (1878–1942) was a Canadian artist and illustrator.
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Note VALÉORINE
Charles Walter Simpson (1878–1942) was a Canadian illustrator and painter. The illustrator was born and died in Montreal. Charles Walter Simpson worked for Canadian Pacific Railway and Montreal Star and was a member of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Works by the illustrator are held at Canadian War Museum, Musée de la civilisation and Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, among others. Charles Walter Simpson received Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q5083333
In this article
Biography
Biography
Training under Maurice Galbraith Cullen, Edmond Dyonnet and William Brymner is recorded. Employment is recorded with Montreal Star and Canadian Pacific Railway. Work by Charles Walter Simpson is recorded in the collections of National Gallery of Canada, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Canadian War Museum and Musée de la civilisation. Distinctions recorded are Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

The skeleton of " La Corriveau ", in her iron cage, terrifying a traveller
Charles Walter Simpson (1878-1942) · Légendes du Saint-Laurent. Montréal: Canadian Pacific Railway, 1926, p. 24.

Painted by Charles Simpson in 1919. Charles Simpson's painting portrays lumbering for aircraft production in British Columbia. The Canadian War Memorials Fund sent Simpson to depict this key Canadian contribution to the war. But when he arrived in the spring of 1919, not only had the spruce lumbering activities ceased, but the war itself had ended. Simpson worked instead from photographs and notes
Charles Walter Simpson
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Charles Walter Simpson • Born — 16 April 1878 • Birthplace — Montreal, Quebec • Died — 16 September 1942 • Place of death — Montreal, Quebec • Known for — artist and illustrator Charles Walter Simpson (1878–1942) was a Canadian artist and illustrator.
Life and work
Life and work
Simpson was born in Montreal, Quebec on 16 April 1878 He died in Montreal on 16 September 1942. Beginning in January 1918, he served with Canadian forces in the First World War. Simpson was one of the first group of "official war artists"—Lord Beaverbrook arranged for Simpson, along with Frederick Varley, J.W. Beatty and Maurice Cullen to be sent overseas to record Canada's participation in the conflict. Simpson was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. His diploma submission, Indian Summer, Montreal Harbour was deposited in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada in 1921. Simpson worked as an illustrator, creating images for books commissioned by various firms to promote their industries or commemorate their achievements. Legends of the St. Lawrence(1926) by Katherine Hale was commissioned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company to be used as a luxury gift for children who were travelling on the company's around the world tours.
Selected works
Selected works
Simpson's published works encompass 43 works in 48 publications in 2 languages and 128 library holdings. • 1940 — The Mechanics' Institute of Montreal: One Hundredth Anniversary 1840-1940 • 1936 — Canadian Pacific Rockies by Betty Thornley • 1936 — From Rags to Writing Paper: a Series of Twelve Sketches by Charles W Simpson • 1933 — Canadian Cities of Romance by Katherine Hale • 1932 — August Sixth, Nineteen Thirty Two, the Opening of the Welland Ship Canal: a Canadian Conception, a Canadian Achievement by Canada • 1929 — Croquis montréalais by Victor Morin (English title: Old Montreal with Pen and Pencil) • 1927 — Le Conseil de Québec de 1769 • 1926 — Legends of the St. Lawrence by Katherine Hale • 1925 — Légendes du Saint-Laurent by Amelia Beers (Warnock) Garvin • 1919 — Cotton by Dominion Textile Company Limited, Montreal
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — The skeleton of La Corriveau, in her iron cage, terrifying a traveller, 1926 • Illustration — Lower Canada Legislative Assembly in 1792 (Chapel of Bishop's Palace, Quebec City), 1927
Identity
Identity
Charles Walter Simpson is recorded as having received Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1878
Charles Walter Simpson was born in 1878 at Montreal.
1942
Charles Walter Simpson died in 1942 at Montreal.
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.National Gallery of Canada. Charles W. Simpson.
- 2.Davis, Ann. The Logic of Ecstasy: Canadian Mystical Painting, 1920–1940. University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division. 30. 1992. 9780802068613.
- 3.Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Members since 1880.
- 4.National Gallery of Canada. Indian Summer, Montreal Harbour.
- 5.Edwards, Gail. Picturing Canada: A History of Canadian Children's Illustrated Books and Publishing. University of Toronto Press. 39. 2010. 9780802085405.
- 6.WorldCat Identities : Simpson, Charles W. (Charles Walter) 1878-1942
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Charles Stanley ReinhartIllustrator
- Charles TochéIllustrator
- Charles TomlinsonIllustrator
- Charles TunnicliffeIllustrator
- Charles West CopeIllustrator
- Charles William JefferysIllustrator
- Charles-Nicolas CochinIllustrator
- Charley TooropIllustrator
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