Fonds 3.04 - Francis R. Findlay and Percy Roy Wilson

Francis R. Findlay was born in Montreal in 1888. After studying at the University of Pennsylvania, he became his father's partner in 1913. He practised architecture with his father, interrupted by service in the First World War, until the partnership was dissolved in 1941 upon the retirement of Robert Findlay. Francis Findlay then continued a limited independent practice until his retirement in 1959. Concurrently, Francis Findlay worked with the architect Earl Lockhart at Defense Industries Ltd from 1941 to 1953. From 1953 to 1959 he worked for Pringle, a Westmount consulting engineer firm.

Percy Roy Wilson was born on May 19, 1900, in Birmingham, England.

In 1913, he moved to Canada with his family. In 1924, he graduated from the McGill School of Architecture and became an internationally renowned architect, author, artist, illustrator, and teacher. After graduation, he moved to New York City and worked as an assistant to Harry T. Lindeberg (in 1924-25), then to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to work with Findlay & Foulis (1925), and back to New York to join York & Sawyer (in 1926-27). There, his skill as an architect and artist was brought to the attention of the editors of the American journal Architectural Forum (New York), who hired him to design the covers of the magazine in 1927-29. Wilson returned to Canada and opened his own office in Montreal in 1927. In 1928, he became Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 1938, he was elected Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy in Architecture and in 1964, Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. As a renowned watercolour artist, he painted over 1300 paintings, primarily featuring buildings. He published several books including; "The Beautiful Old Houses of Quebec", “Design and Delight” (autobiography), “Dorval 1667-1975: The Story of Dorval in Pictures and Words”, “Rhymes and Rhetoric” and several magazine articles. His self-proclaimed titles included “Lecturer, Teacher, Historian, Etcher, Model-maker, Calligrapher, Modeller, Carver, Poet, Librettist, Singer, Director, Sailor, Ski-instructor, Boat-builder, Inventor, Marksman and Traveler.”

He was a director of the Société historique Beaurepaire-Beaconsfield Historical Society. In 1977, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. In celebration of his 101st birthday, the McGill School of Architecture hosted an exhibition of his watercolours.

He died on June 11, 2001, in Beaconsfield, Quebec.