Aspiring Artist

Bill Stapleton was born in Stratford, Ontario in 1916. He studied at the National Academy of Design and the Works Progress Administration school in New York, the Slade School of Art, London, and the Ontario College of Art, Toronto. His media include oils, acrylics and watercolours, pastel, charcoal, pen-and-ink and ink-wash and his subject was often a depiction of the everyday world he observed. He was described by the Toronto Star as "The People's Artist". He was associated with ArtHeart, a community-based program promoting art and young artists, and a member of "Veterans Against Nuclear Arms." Collections of Stapleton's work are in the National Archives of Canada and in the Canadian War Museum. In 2006, he donated 1,500 canvases and sketches to the Cabbagetown Regent Park Community Museum in Toronto.