A Life of Art and Exploration Born in Dublin, Ireland, William Armstrong was a painter and watercolorist who became one of the early professional artists of Toronto, Ontario. His journey began with studies in Ireland and an apprenticeship in England as a railway engineer with the Midland Railway. After immigrating to Canada in 1851, he settled in Toronto, where he found a market for his artwork through illustrated news. His watercolours of local scenes and events were frequently reproduced as monochrome wood engravings for weekly periodicals. Armstrong was a man of diverse technical skills, i…