Provenance:

Private Collection, Massachusetts.

Literature:

William Colgate, Canadian Art, Its Origin and Development, Toronto, 1967, pages 13-17, for an extensive account of Berthon’s work.
Joyner Canadian Fine Art, auction, Toronto, June 1st 2010, lot 149, for a portrait of Colonel Jeremiah Wilkes Dewson, father-in-law of Colonel George Taylor Denison II who commissioned the portrait of Col. Dewson.

Note:

Painted circa 1853-56.

Col. Denison (1816-1873) was born in Toronto and educated at Upper Canada College, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1840. Denison was a prominent lawyer, soldier and entrepreneur. Married to Mary Anne Dewson in 1839, the Denisons built Rusholme on property given by Col. Denison’s father, the fields and orchards of which became a model of productive, scientific farming. The Denisons lived the life of country squires and Rusholme became a centre of social life with balls and soirees and was visited by a number of royal and military personalities.

It was as a soldier, however, that Denison spent a large part of his life. This portrait depicts Denison in the uniform of his regiment, the York Light Dragoons (now known as the Governor General’s Bodyguard) which he was appointed to command in 1846. Previously, he had commanded the Queen’s Light Dragoons during the rebellion of 1837. In 1848, Denison was promoted to captain and in 1850 to Brevet-Major. By 1853, now a Lieutenant Colonel, Denison was Commanding Officer of the York Dragoons. In 1856, he formed the first Artillery Battery for Toronto and was temporarily the CO for the Queen’s Own Rifles in 1860. The same year he was appointed Colonel Commandant of Toronto Militia (District 10) and, finally, in 1866 commanded the Toronto Garrison during the Fenian Raids.

In this portrait the gilt rank device of a crown is visible on the epaulettes of Denison’s York Light Dragoons uniform signifying the rank of Lieut. Col. which he reached in 1853. He would have worn a different uniform after 1856 when he was associated with the Artillery Battery, thus allowing the painting to be dated circa 1853-56. A larger version of Berthon’s portrait of Denison is in the possession of the Governor General’s Bodyguard. Colgate notes that Berthon “...was entrusted with commissions by several notable military officers living in Toronto, among them...Lieutenant-Colonels R.I. Denison and George T. Denison.”