John Angus Palmer was a Surgeon in Toronto General Hospital and an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. Palmer was born in Meaford, Ontario and was inspired to paint as a young man by Fred Haines, Manley MacDonald, Earnest Dalton and A.J. Casson. For most of his years as a painter he focused primarily on the Canadian landscape as a subject.  He painted in all provinces, but focused mainly on Northern Ontario in areas near Lake Superior, Georgian Bay, Algonquin Park, and Cobalt. Although some of these sketches were worked up to larger canvasses, the smaller 10" x 12" oil sketches are considered to be most definitive of his work. His frequent companions on sketching trips were Lawrence Nickle and Michael Cleary. His painting entitled "Temiskaming Shaft" is housed in the Temiskaming Art Gallery Permanent Collection.  

  

    "John Angus Palmer was a faculty member of the Department of Surgery at University of Toronto and the Division of General Surgery at the Toronto General Hospital. He practiced as a Surgical Oncologist until his untimely demise in 1984. He had a broad range of interests including Endocrine Surgery and Gastrointestinal Malignancy. He was a master surgeon, an astounding technician, a thoughtful and sage clinician and a gifted teacher. A lectureship was established in 1985 by his friends, family, former students, patients, and medical colleagues as a tribute to his life and memory."

   

Source:  University of Toronto, The Surgical Spotlight