The following information was submitted in December of 2006 by Robert Ormerod:

One of Toronto's leading artists of the early twentieth century, Owen Staples emigrated to Canada at the age of four.  Showing an early inclination for art, Staples completed studies under both Horatio Walker and George Reid at the Art Students' League of Toronto before reaching the age of twenty.  He then completed his artistic education under the famous American painter, Thomas Eakins in Philadelphia (1887-1888).

Staples first gained employment as an illustrator for the Toronto Evening Telegram, working there from 1885 to 1908.  Thereafter he was appointed the historical painter for the John Ross Robertson Collection, as well as illustrating a number of books, executing commissioned murals, and producing a fine oeuvre of paintings, watercolours and etchings.

Owen Staples has long been recognized as a master painter and etcher of architectural views and landscapes, both of Ontario and other regions.  He was a full member of the Ontario Society of Artists (1889), the Canadian Painter-Etchers (1916 - later, President), and of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (1925).  During his career, Staples frequently exhibited with the prestigious Royal Canadian Academy (1888-1940), as well as with the Scottish Water Colour Society (1933-1938), and in St. Louis and Chicago. His art is housed in most major Canadian collections, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, and the National Gallery of Canada.