Artwork of Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim Simcoe

This collection includes a selection of artwork by Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim Simcoe, wife of John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (1791-1798). The original works are currently held in the Archives of Ontario.

Description from the AO website exhibit entitled Travels with Elizabeth Simcoe: A Visual Journey through Upper and Lower Canada:

"Elizabeth was an accomplished artist and, between 1791 and 1796, as she travelled throughout Upper and Lower Canada, produced a large number of sketches and watercolours depicting Canadian scenes. She was also an avid diarist and wrote about many of her experiences. These diaries and paintings combine to create a vivid portrait of both the raw beauty of the untamed landscape and the day-to-day life of a gentlewoman in pioneer times."