Living History: Open-Air Salvation

Artist Thomas Mower Martin (1838-1934) was born in London, England, and immigrated to Canada, eventually settling in Toronto. He was a founding member of the Ontario Society of Artists, first director of the Ontario School of Art and charter member of the Royal Academy of Arts. Renowned not only in Canada but around the world, his works of art are featured in many public galleries, including the National Art Gallery of Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Royal Ontario Museum and the National Archives, as well as Windsor Castle.

Open Air Meeting was completed in 1895, inspired by an actual event witnessed by the painter that occurred on Adelaide and Victoria streets in downtown Toronto. Martin believed in painting what he saw and not an idealized view, and one of his favourite sayings was: “Put your colours out on your palette and paint what you see.” He was so impressed by the scene that he captured it on canvas.

Open Air Meeting was donated to the Army by Martin’s daughter and hung on the wall in the first territorial headquarters (THQ) building at James and Albert streets in Toronto until it found its way to the College for Officer Training when it was located on Toronto’s Bayview Avenue, where it was viewed by hundreds of Salvationists over the years. In 2005, the Army hired a conservationist to restore and repair the painting, and it was displayed at the current THQ until last year, when it was temporarily transferred to the Heritage Centre while the building’s main floor underwent renovations.