Augustus Frederick Lafosse Kenderdine was born near Blackpool, England, in 1870. He studied at the Manchester School of Art under his godfather, the Belgian artist Augustus Lafosse, and later at . the Academie Julian in Paris. In Blackpool, he established a business, Gus Kenderdine Photographer and Fine Art Dealer, and enjoyed some success as an artist. However, he decided to emigrate to Canada and, in 1908, homesteaded near Lashburn, Saskatchewan. In the early 1920s, Dr. Walter Murray, the president of the University of Saskatchewan saw several of his paintings and offered him studio space at the University. For the next few years, he gave lessons in his studio and eventually, in 1933, became the first art instructor at the University. He had conceived the idea of a Summer Art School at Emma Lake and, in 1936, the first session was held. Also that year, he moved to Regina to become the Director of the Regina School of Fine Art. He became ill while at the Emma Lake Summer School, and died in hospital in Saskatoon, in 1947.
