The Old Print Shop

Henry Sandham

1842-1910

Henry "Hy" Sandham was a Canadian painter and illustrator, born in Montreal. His desire to pursue the arts was unsupported by him family, leaving Sandham to figure things out for himself. At 18 he became an assistant to British artist and photographer John Arthur Fraser, under whom he learned how to draw, paint and work in photography. Fraser was the head of the art department of William Notman's photographic studio in Montreal, later becoming known as Notman & Fraser. Despite winning a silver medal at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1878 for one of his large composite photographs (showing more than 300 members of the Montreal Snow Shoe Club), Sandham was more interested in drawing and painting. 

Sandham’s work was shown at the Art Association of Montreal in 1965 and the Society of Canadian Artists' annual exhibition from 1868-1872. He was also a charter-member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Sandham became a more internationally known name when he began producing illustrations for various U.S. newspapers like Harper's Weekly and Scribner’s Monthly. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1885, where his work was shown by the Boston Watercolor Society (now known as the New England Watercolor Society), the Boston Art Club and the American Watercolor Society.

Sandham moved to England in 1901, where he remained until his death in 1910. His work was shown in several of the Royal Academy of Arts' annual exhibitions. 

 

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