Roy Austin grew up in the rural town of Orangeville, Ontario.  He studied painting and design under J.W. Beatty, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frank Carmichael and Yvonne McKague Housser at the Ontario College of Art. Always active in the arts and community life, Roy Austin was a member of the Arts and letters club, honorary member of the Ontario Society of Artists and participated in exhibitions with the Royal Canadian Academy. After 20 years of operating his own company “Austin Displays Limited”, at the age of 59, he went with his wife to Grenada to paint the local scene for five years.  Roy Austin returned to Canada in 1974 and settled in the city of Cambridge continuing to paint many famous Ontario scenes. In the artist’s characteristic frankness, he says of his painting, “I don’t put myself into my painting; the landscape puts itself into my painting”.

In simplified shapes, expressive brush strokes and often dramatic colours, the artist’s landscapes, whether representational or non-objective, pull the viewer into the heart of the painting.  Austin is perhaps best known for his portrayal of southwestern Ontario’s small towns, villages and country sides. 

BOBS COGILL HAWORTH, OSA, ARCA, CGP, CSPWC
(1904-1988)
Born in Queenstown, South Africa.
Studied at the Royal College of Art, London, England and moved to Toronto in 1923. Was assigned to record activities of the Canadian Armed Forces in BC during World War II and design silkscreen prints for the National Gallery of Canada. She taught at the Toronto Central Technical School and lectured at the University of Toronto.