A portrait of
chutzpah & creativity
The incredible story
of william raphael
Artist, illustrator, teacher
& canada’s first jewish painter
MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2026
Talk at 7.00 pm
Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St., Toronto
Bram and Bluma Appel Salon
In 1855, before leaving his native Prussia for Montreal—where he became Canada’s first Jewish professional artist—William Raphael anglicized his name from Israel Rafalsky. For an unknown painter to assume the moniker of a famed Renaissance genius was a startling act of chutzpah—one that foreshadowed his noteworthy career as an artist whose work would end up in museums across Canada. Still, it would take over a century, and a vigorous bidding war over his painting Bonsecours Market, Montreal, 1880, for Raphael to earn international attention. This event will share the remarkable story of a man who had the tremendous confidence to voyage to a new country, and who created an enduring body of work about its people, origins, and identity.
An art talk featuring
PIERRE-OLIVIER OUELLET
Author of
William Raphael: Life & Work
SARA ANGEL
Founder and Executive Director of the
Art Canada Institute
CLARENCE EPSTEIN
Author of
Montreal, City of Spires
