{{short description|Canadian artist (1869–1959)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Frederick Sproston Challener | other_names = F.S. Challener;<br />Frederick S. Challener | image = Frederick S. Challener, R.C.A. (I0007803).jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Challener in 1930 | birth_name = Frederick Sproston Challener | birth_date = {{Birth date|1869|7|07}} | birth_place = Whetstone, Middlesex, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|1959|09|30|1869|7|07}} | death_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | education = Central Ontario School of Art | spouse = Ethel White (m. 1902) | occupation = Muralist, painter, draftsman, commercial artist, teacher }} '''Frederick Sproston Challener''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|RCA|size=100%}} (1869–1959), who signed his name as '''F.S. Challener''',<ref name="boat murals " >{{Cite news|date=1905-03-18|title=Two immense canvases from brush of Mr. F. S. Challener|pages=4|work=The Gazette|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53071017/two-immense-canvases-from-brush-of-mr/|access-date=2020-06-09}}</ref> was a Canadian painter of murals as well as an easel painter of oils and watercolours and a draftsman in black-and-white and pastel. He also did illustrations for books and commercial art. He "easily ranks with the first few mural decorators in Canada", wrote Newton MacTavish, author of ''The Fine Arts in Canada'' (MacMillan, 1925).<ref>"Frederick Challener". The Canadian Who`s Who in Canada, 1936-1937, p. 186.</ref>
== Biography ==
=== Early years === Challener was born in Whetstone, Middlesex, England.<ref name=":0 " /> His family moved to Canada in 1870, but returned to England in 1876 where Frederick attended school, then came back to Canada permanently in 1883. He worked as an office boy for a business firm and drew individuals he saw from a window. Artist and photographer, John Arthur Fraser, of the Notman and Fraser firm, recognized his talent and paid for him to attend the Ontario School of Art at night (from 1884 to 1886). Afterwards, Challener studied at the Toronto Art Students' League (1885–1889) and privately with George Agnew Reid for some years from 1890 on<ref name=":OLR " >Who`s Who in Ontario Art, Part 15, Ontario Library Review, August 1951, Toronto 1951.</ref> while working for the Toronto Lithographing Company. Challener was a teenager when studying with Reid, but the two went on to become lifelong friends and colleagues.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Foss |first=Brian |url=https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/george-agnew-reid/biography/ |title=George Agnew Reid: Life & Work |date=2025 |publisher=Art Canada Institute |location=Toronto}}</ref> After five years there, he became a newspaper artist and worked as a full-time artist thereafter.<ref name=":1 " >{{Cite book|last=MacDonald|first=Colin S.|title=A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume 2|date=1967|publisher=Canadian Paperbacks|isbn=0-919554-11-3|edition=1st|location=Ottawa|pages=124|oclc=1137593}}</ref>
=== Career === Challener's first commission for a mural painting was for two ceiling panels for McConkey's restaurant in 1895, his second for the proscenium arch in the Russell Theatre, Ottawa (1897)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Muriel |title=Famous Canadian Artists |date=1984 |publisher=Woodland Pub. |location=Peterborough, Ont. |pages=60–64 |url=http://library.gallery.ca/search~S1?/amiller%2C+muriel/amiller+muriel/1%2C1%2C5%2CB/frameset&FF=amiller+muriel+1908+1987&1%2C%2C5 |access-date=2021-09-24}}</ref> for which he won a competition with his ''The Arts Paying Homage to the Drama''<ref name=":OLR " /> (one of the roundels and the maquette were preserved in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada when the restaurant was demolished).
After travelling through Europe and the Middle East in 1898–1899, Challener began working as a muralist in earnest and participated in commissions such as the decoration of the recently completed Toronto City Hall. He created murals for hotels, such as ''Fort Rouillé'' in Toronto's King Edward Hotel (1900) and Winnipeg's Royal Alexandra Hotel (1906–1912) (the four surviving panels are in the Manitoba Archives);{{sfn|Foss | 2010|p=31-34}} theatres, such as the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto (1906); and office buildings and passenger boats such as the ''S.S. Kingston'', the ''S.S. Toronto'' and the ''S.S. Montreal'' (1900–1902).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rozniatowski |first1=Susan Moffatt |title=A Fallen Splendour: The Challener Murals of Winnipeg's Royal Alexandra Hotel |url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/42/challenermurals.shtml |website=mb_history |publisher=Manitoba History, No. 42, Autumn/Winter 2001-2002 |access-date=2020-06-07}}</ref><ref name="boat murals " /><ref>Charles E. McFadden, "The Murals of F. S. Challener". Canadian Art XX, November/December 1963, pp. 340-344</ref> For the Parkwood Estate, the family home of Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin, from 1924 to 1926, he painted three large murals for the Grand Hall of the residence as well as 14 paintings for McLaughlin's billiard room which showed the Colonel's life, his family and friends.<ref>Stanley G. Moyer, "An Office Boy Who Studied Art". The Canadian Magazine, August, 1930, p.48</ref><ref name=":1 " />{{sfn|McKay |2002|p=132}}<ref>"Some Unique Paintings for 'M'Laughlin Home". Globe, Aug 21, 1926.</ref>
In painting murals, Challener was part of a chapter in Canadian Art called ''Decorative Painting'' based on William Morris's Arts and Crafts movement.{{sfn|Foss |2010|p=31-34}} In Canada, the Arts and Crafts Society of Canada was founded by George Agnew Reid and others in 1903. It became the Canadian Society of Applied Art in 1905, and combined with a City Beautiful movement to encourage murals in civic and commercial establishments.{{sfn|Foss | 2010|p=31-34}} In Toronto, the Society of Mural Decorators was founded in 1897 by Reid, Challener, William Cruikshank and Edmund Wyly Grier.{{sfn|Foss |2010|p=31-34}} Many artists, both before and after the society was formed, executed murals, only Challener was one of the few who made a career of it. "He has produced some very clever and important decorations", wrote E. F. B. Johnston in 1914.<ref name="johnston " >{{cite web |last=Johnston|first=E.F.B.|title=Canada and its Provinces, vol. 12, p. 623 |url=https://archive.org/stream/canadaitsprovinc12shoruoft/canadaitsprovinc12shoruoft_djvu.txt |website=archive.org |access-date=2020-09-13}}</ref> (Johnston used "clever" in a positive sense. On the same page of text, he praised Challener as having "perhaps the keenest sense of light and brilliancy of colour of any of the Canadian painters").<ref name="johnston " /> In 1890, Challener became a member of the Ontario Society of Artists and he showed with the Society often from 1890 to 1951 and in the Canadian National Exhibition from about 1890 to 1947 as well as in many shows organized by the National Gallery of Canada and Art Gallery of Ontario.<ref name=":OLR " /> In 1891, Challener first exhibited with the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and he showed with the academy almost every year thereafter until 1948.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McMann |first1=Evelyn de R. |title=Royal Canadian Academy of Arts: Exhibitions and Members, 1880-1970|date=1981 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |pages=67–69|isbn= 9780802023667|url=https://search.library.utoronto.ca/search?N=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nu=p_work_normalized&Np=1&Ntt=McMann%2C%20Evelyn%20de%20R.%20(1981).%20Royal%20Canadian%20Academy%20of%20Arts%3A%20Exhibitions%20and%20Members%2C%201880-1970&Ntk=Anywhere| access-date=2020-06-07}}</ref><ref name=":OLR " /> He was elected to full membership in 1899. The Montreal ''Gazette'' wrote of Challener on April 19 of that year that his work entitles him to a place among the foremost of Canadian artists since it is, in the main, "serious and sincere".<ref>{{cite news |title=At the Art Gallery: Some of the Works of F.S. Challener, R.C.A. |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ysg0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=JH4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=7172%2C1107801 |access-date=2020-08-31 |agency=news.google.com |publisher=Montreal Gazette |date=April 19, 1899}}</ref> alt=Painting by Challener|left|thumb|''A Singing Lesson'', 1900 In 1900, he showed ''A Singing Lesson'' (1900) at the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (it was also shown in the Art Association of Montreal and in the Rochester Art Club Annual Exhibition in 1902). The model for the man in the mirror was Challener's close friend of his early years, Walter Allward, playing his cello.<ref name="Dombowsky " >{{Cite book|last=Dombowsky|first=Philip|url=https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/walter-allward/|title=Walter S. Allward: Life & Work|publisher=Art Canada Institute|year=2021|isbn=978-1-4871-0252-4|location=Toronto|access-date=2021-09-10}}</ref>
''A Singing Lesson'' was singled out for praise. In reviews published in 1900, the ''Ottawa Citizen'' wrote that the picture, "showing a young lady, clad in a yellow gown, standing before a piano, expressed, gracefully, an abundance of sentiment",<ref>{{Cite news|date=1900-02-16|title=Triumphs of the artists' brush on exhibition|pages=3|work=The Ottawa Citizen|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53071454/triumphs-of-the-artists-brush-on/|access-date=2020-06-09}}</ref> while the ''Ottawa Evening Journal'' wrote that the painting was "fresh, daring, and finished" and called Challener "one of Canada’s most promising and original artists."<ref>{{Cite news|date=1900-02-17|title=A visit to the Royal Art Academy|pages=9|work=The Ottawa Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53071736/a-visit-to-the-royal-art-academy/|access-date=2020-06-09}}</ref> At the ''Pan-American Exposition'' of 1901 in Buffalo he was awarded a bronze medal and in 1904, he received a bronze medal at the ''Canadian exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition'', informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, at St. Louis, Missouri.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Williamson |first1=Moncrieff |title=Robert Harris: An Unconventional Biography |pages=180–183 |url=https://search.library.utoronto.ca/search?N=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nu=p_work_normalized&Np=1&Ntt=Williamson%2C%20Moncrieff%20(1970).%20Robert%20Harris%201849-1919%20An%20Unconventional%20Biography&Ntk=Anywhere |website=search.library.utoronto.ca |publisher=McClelland & Stewart, Toronto |access-date=2021-05-02 |archive-date=May 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502133034/https://search.library.utoronto.ca/search?N=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nu=p_work_normalized&Np=1&Ntt=Williamson,%20Moncrieff%20(1970).%20Robert%20Harris%201849-1919%20An%20Unconventional%20Biography&Ntk=Anywhere |url-status=dead }}</ref> He received the bronze medal at the Pan American Exhibition for his painting ''The Workers of the Fields'' which he deposited in the Royal Canadian Academy diploma collection in the National Gallery of Canada.<ref name=":1 " /> He worked in Toronto, but moved to Conestoga near Waterloo, in 1907, to Winnipeg from 1913 to 1916, then back to Toronto.<ref name=":2 " >{{Cite book|last=Bradfield|first=Helen Pepall|title=Art Gallery of Ontario: The Canadian Collection|date=1970|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=0-07-092504-6|location=Toronto|pages=70|oclc=118037}}</ref> alt=Painting by Challener|thumb|400x400px|''Canada's Grand Armada'', 1918 During WWI, Challener worked as a painter for the Canadian War Memorials Department.<ref name=":1 " /> His painting ''Canada's Grand Armada'' depicts the first contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force sailing from the Gaspé in Quebec to Britain in 1914. The painting is in the collection of the Canadian War Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Challener|first=Frederick Sproston|date=1918|title=Painting, Canada's Grand Armada, 1914|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/collections/artifact/1017195|access-date=2020-06-09|website=Canadian War Museum|language=en-US}}</ref>
From 1921 to 1924, he taught at Central Technical School, Toronto, and from 1927 to 1952, he taught at the Ontario School of Art.<ref name=":1 " /><ref name=":2 " /> During these years, he accumulated archival material on Canadian art which today is in the Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frederick S. Challener Collection CA OTAG SC013 |url=https://ago.ca/sites/default/files/SC013.pdf |website=ago.ca |access-date=2020-06-07}}</ref>
Challener died in Toronto on September 30, 1959, at the age of 90.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1959-10-01|title=Mural artist, F. S. Challener Dies at 90|pages=50|work=The Ottawa Citizen|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53070233/mural-artist-f-s-challener-dies-at-90/|access-date=2020-06-09}}</ref>
== Selected public collections == Challener's paintings are in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa;<ref name=":0 " >{{Cite web|title=Frederick Challener|url=https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artist/frederick-challener|access-date=2020-06-06|website=National Gallery of Canada|language=en}}</ref> the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto;<ref name=":2 " /> the Government of Ontario Art Collection, Toronto;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Challener |first1=F. S. |title=Government of Ontario art collection database |url=http://ao.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/GOAC?DIRECTSEARCH |website=ao.minisisinc.com |publisher=Government of Ontario |access-date=2020-06-07 |archive-date=May 3, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060503165115/http://ao.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/GOAC?DIRECTSEARCH |url-status=dead }}</ref> the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina; the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Challener |first1=Frederick Sproston |title=Ducks and Reflections on a River |url=https://rmg.minisisinc.com/m3online/scripts/mwimain.dll/54/1/0?SEARCH&SHOWSINGLE=Y&ERRMSG=[M3ONLINE]error.html |website=rmg.minisisinc.com |publisher=Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa |access-date=2020-06-06 |archive-date=June 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603120357/https://rmg.minisisinc.com/m3online/scripts/mwimain.dll/54/1/0?SEARCH&SHOWSINGLE=Y&ERRMSG=%5BM3ONLINE%5Derror.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.<ref>{{cite book |title=Four Challener murals: [exhibition] at the Winnipeg Art Gallery |date=June 18 - July 15, 1973 |publisher=Winnipeg Art Gallery |location=Winnipeg|url=https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM1553428&R=1553428 |access-date=2020-06-07}}</ref>
== Memberships == OSA 1891; Toronto Arts Students League, 1890–1906; A.R.C.A. 1891; R.C.A., 1899; Palette Club, Toronto, about 1902; Founder member Arts and Letters Club, Toronto, 1908.<ref name=":OLR " />
== Publications == * F. S. Challener, "Mural Decoration". Canadian Architect and Builder, vol. 17, no. 5 (May, 1904), pp. 90–92.
== References == {{reflist}}
=== Bibliography === * {{cite book |last1=Boyanoski |first1=Christine |title="Figures in the Landscape en plein air". Embracing Canada: Landscapes from Krieghoff to the Group of Seven |date=2015 |publisher=Vancouver Art Gallery and Black Dog Publishing |others= Ian M. Thom (ed.)|location=Vancouver and London, Eng. |pages=59ff|url=https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Embracing%20Canada:%20Landscapes%20from%20Krieghoff%20to%20the%20Group%20of%20Seven.&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=UTL&vid=01UTORONTO_INST:UTORONTO&offset=0 |access-date=2021-05-20}} *{{cite book|last1=Bridle|first1=Augustus|title=Sons of Canada : short studies of characteristic Canadians; drawings by F.S. Challener|date=1916|publisher=J.M.Dent|isbn=1290120781|oclc=726333220}} *{{Cite book|last1=Foss |first1=Brian |title="Into the New Century: Painting, c.1880-1914". The Visual Arts in Canada : the Twentieth Century|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Foss, Brian., Paikowsky, Sandra., Whitelaw, Anne (eds.)|isbn=978-0-19-542125-5|location=Don Mills, Ont.|oclc=432401392 }} *{{cite book |editor-last1=Hill |editor-first1=Charles C. |title=Artists, Architects and Artisans: Canadian Art 1890 - 1918 |date=2013 |publisher=National Gallery of Canada |location=Ottawa|url=https://search.library.utoronto.ca/search?N=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nu=p_work_normalized&Np=1&Ntt=Hill%2C%20Charles%20C.%20(2013).%20Artists%2C%20Architects%20and%20Artisans%3A&Ntk=Anywhere |access-date=2020-12-13}} *{{cite book|last1=McKay|first1=Marylin J.|title=A National Soul: Canadian Mural Painting, 1860s - 1930s|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|date=2002|isbn=0773522905|oclc=951201701}} *{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Muriel|title=Famous Canadian Artists|date=1984|publisher=Woodland Publishing|location=Peterborough|pages=64|oclc=231836701}}
{{Authority control (arts)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Challener, Frederick}} Category:1869 births Category:1959 deaths Category:English emigrants to Canada Category:OCAD University alumni Category:Academic staff of OCAD University Category:19th-century Canadian painters Category:20th-century Canadian painters Category:Canadian muralists Category:Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Category:Canadian illustrators Category:Canadian art educators Category:World War I artists Category:20th-century Canadian war artists