Robert Ford Gagen was born in 1848 in London, England. In 1862, his family emigrated to Canada, settling near Seaforth, Ontario. In Seaforth, he met William Cresswell who took an interest in the young man and not only gave him instruction, but also art supplies. Later, he studied in Toronto with G. Gilbert and worked for nine years under John A. Fraser at Notman and Fraser's photographic studio. He became a founding member of the Ontario Society of Artists and, in 1872, was a charter member of the Royal Canadian Academy. In 1919 to 1920, he was president of the Arts and Letters Club and from 1912 to 1926, the Commissioner of Fine Arts for the Canadian National Exhibition. He travelled widely in Canada in search of subject matter, painting mountains in the west and the sea in the east. He died in Toronto in 1926.
