Herbert Sidney Palmer was born in Toronto in 1881. He studied at the Central Ontario School of Art under F.S. Challener and J.W. Beatty. After finishing school, he worked for a time as a commercial printer before becoming a fulltime artist. From 1926 to 1941, he was the Curator of the Fine Art Department of the Canadian National Exhibition. He was a member of the Ontario Society of Artists, the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, the Canadian Society of Graphic Artists, the Arts and Letters Club, and the Royal Canadian Academy. In 1960, in honour of his work with these many art organizations, he was awarded the first Baxter Art Foundation Award. He died in 1970.
