Eagar, William, ca. 1796-1839 : Artist. William Eagar was born in County Cork, Ireland. Sometime before 1819, he emigrated to Newfoundland where he married Maria Saunders, daughter of a well-established island family. The economic depression of the 1820s in Newfoundland forced him to labour as a painter. He opened a studio in St. John's at the Old Lord Theatre in 1829. His 1831 view of St. John's Harbour was used by then Governor of Newfoundland as evidence of the colony's prosperity to help petition London for an elected Assembly. Eagar moved to Halifax in 1834 and set up his own drawing academy at which he taught the rudiments of landscape painting and watercolour techniques, primarily to the daughters of prominent area families. In 1836, Eagar publicized his intention to produce two volumes of engravings of scenes of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The first series of three works was completed but, unfortunately, came into competition with the much cheaper lithographic series by British officer Robert Petley. Eagar subsequently arranged to have his second set, comprising recreational views around Halifax, produced as lithographs by a Boston firm. However, on one of his return trips from Boston through New Brunswick, the artist developed pneumonia and died. Two remaining sets of "Nova Scotia Scenery" were published posthumously as were three individual illustrations of Halifax landmarks.
Together with Robert Petley, William Eagar is credited with introducing lithography to Nova Scotia. His art academy played an important role in the cultural development of Halifax. Eagar's landscape and civic views, revelatory of the predominance of the doctrines of the picturesque, promoted at home and abroad an appreciation of local beauties. See artist's file 705-83; also, the catalogue entitled "Nova Scotia Scenery An Exhibition of Works by William H. Eagar", St. Mary's University Art Gallery, 1983, curated by Alexandra Carter.
