BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS  

Hay Strafford Stead

October 26 1871 - February 19 1924

Manitoba Society of Artists (Founding President)
Winnipeg School of Art
IACS
IACS list of exhibitors

Hay Stead was born in Lancashire, England, and came to Canada around 1889 where the family settled in Winnipeg MB. He was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company for a number of years as a clerk.

He was an active artist, cartoonist, writer and editorialist, involved in local art societies and exhibitions, and commenting on the contemporary political scene.

Stead exhibited artwork with the Island Arts and Crafts Society in 1914 and 1915. He was apparently visiting Victoria, since some of his artwork titles are from Victoria and the surrounding area. The City Directories for Victoria do not list him.

He died in Montreal after a short illness.

Refer to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography per citation below for a much-expanded biographical summary and references.


GROUP EXHIBITIONS
DATE EXHIBITION ARTWORK
1914 Nov. 19 - 21 IACS Alexandra Club   5th Annual Wards of the Government (w/c)
A Country Road, Saanich (w/c)
Sunset on Northern Lake (oil)
Silver Heights, Winnipeg (oil)
Landscape (oil)
1915 Nov. 23 - 27 IACS Union Bank Building.   6th Annual Windblown (oil)
The Hillside (oil)
Spring Morning (oil)
Morning Mist (oil)
The Buffalo (oil)
The Rocks (oil)
The Poplar Grove (oil)
Autumn Prairie (oil)
The Squall (oil)
The Prairie Trail (oil)
After the Shower (oil)
Threatening Snow (w/c)
Near Burnside Road (w/c)
The Outlaw (w/c)
Reflections (w/c)
Carrier Squaw and Papoose (w/c)
Windy Day, Uplands (w/c)
Old Hudson's Bay Co. Buildings, Portage Inlet (w/c)
Smoke Haze, from the Gorge Bridge (w/c)

References

Marcia Stentz, “STEAD, HAY STRAFFORD,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed December 25, 2025, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/stead_hay_strafford_15E.html.

Clippings

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