The Barnyard, Baie St. Paul, 1922

Private Collection, Ajax, Ontario

A.Y. Jackson, A Painter’s Country, Vancouver/Toronto, 1958, pages 159-160

Discussing his first meeting with Walter Stewart and his relationship with the Stewart family, A.Y. Jackson wrote in his 1958 autobiograhy “A Painter’s Country”: “There was a knock at my studio door one day, and a young student introduced himself. He was Walter Stewart and he wanted to interview me about an article he was writing on art for ‘Varsity’, a paper published by the students of the University of Toronto. He asked intelligent questions and produced a good article. I met him later at Hart House where he was having an interview with W.B. Yeats, the poet, who was very friendly and gave Stewart more time than he gave the professionals. After he got married our acquaintance continued; his wife, Jane, was also interested in art and literature. As the family came along I was Uncle Alex to all of them. Three of them are married now. The Stewart home is kind of a private gallery, with Jackson paintings in every room.”