70 Paintings by Carl Ahrens: Canada’s “Painter of Trees” and His Galt Home

The latest video in my YouTube series, True North Palettes: 100 Canadian Paintings, is up, and this one is a little different. It features 70 paintings by Carl Henry Ahrens (1862–1936), the landscape painter known as Canada’s “Artist of Trees.” It was made in cooperation with Kim Bullock, the youngest great-grandchild of Carl and Madonna Ahrens, who has spent years keeping his story and his art in front of the public.

If you’ve followed the series, you’ve already seen Frank Panabaker and Farquhar McGillivray Knowles. I’ve gone with 70 paintings for Carl because that’s the body of work Kim and I could bring together for this showcase, and it makes a strong, focused tribute.

Who Was Carl Ahrens?

Carl Ahrens was born on February 15, 1862, in Winfield, Ontario, and raised mostly in Berlin (now Kitchener) in Waterloo County. As a boy he contracted tuberculosis, which settled in his hip and left him with a limp and chronic pain for the rest of his life. It never slowed his spirit. He was known locally as a prankster, and as a teenager he headed west on a restless run of adventures in what is now Alberta and the American West.

He worked as a button-factory dyer and then as a dentist in Nebraska before turning to painting in his mid-twenties. He was largely self-taught. He exhibited with the Ontario Society of Artists in 1889, was elected an associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and studied briefly in New York under William Merritt Chase. There he befriended the landscape painter George Inness, who urged him to trust his own instincts and paint in his own way. He did.

His story also took him to the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, to California, where he painted the old Spanish missions, and back to Toronto. There, a patron named Malcolm Smith Mercer bought his work for three years, producing the 31-canvas Mercer Collection, which many art historians consider his strongest.

The Galt Connection: “Big Trees”

For those of us in Waterloo Region, this is where the story gets close to home. In the 1920s Ahrens settled his family in an old stone farmhouse just outside Galt, now part of Cambridge, Ontario, which he named “Big Trees” for the trees that surround it. The family lived there from 1923 to 1935. Built in 1840 in the Georgian style by local farmer William Rankin (also spelled Rankine), it is one of Cambridge’s oldest homes. As of September 2026, the city was recommending it for heritage designation, with the owners’ support, for its craftsmanship and its link to the lives of Galt’s early settlers. The designation also recognizes Ahrens’s connection to the home, and CambridgeToday notes that he was part of a group of artists who helped foster Galt’s local art community.

The woods around Big Trees became his greatest inspiration. The paintings from this period, bold and full of colour, earned him his nickname, “Artist of Trees.” At Big Trees he also took up printmaking, using a press he built from an old mangle and dental tools, and he taught students there, including Grant Macdonald, who later became an official artist with the Royal Canadian Navy.

The house also welcomed artists, writers and musicians, and his friend and fellow landscape painter Homer Watson, the great painter of the Doon countryside, was a frequent guest. That is the same Homer Watson who kicked off this series. It is a reminder of how rich a creative community grew up in this corner of Ontario, from Galt and Doon to Hespeler and Kitchener-Waterloo.

An Artist Who Deserves to Be Better Known

Ahrens could be blunt, and his criticism of some of his contemporaries, including artists who would become part of the Group of Seven, made him enemies in the art establishment. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, who knew the family, helped see one of his paintings, The Road, into the National Gallery of Canada in 1923. According to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, it remains his only work there. He died in Toronto in 1936, and his work has been underappreciated ever since. His descendants have worked to change that, and I’m proud to play a small part.

Working with Kim Bullock

This video exists because of Kim Bullock, the youngest great-grandchild of Carl and his wife Madonna (Martha Niles). Kim’s dedication to her great-grandfather’s legacy is the reason so much of his story is accessible today, and I’m grateful for her cooperation on this project.

To go deeper, visit Kim’s two websites:

• carlahrens.com: Kim’s website on Carl, with his full biography (Life of Carl Ahrens), exhibitions, paintings, residences and more.
• kimbullockauthor.com: Kim’s author website, where you can find her books and upcoming work.

For an overview, the Dictionary of Canadian Biography has a detailed entry on Carl by Nancy Silcox: Ahrens, Carl Henry.

Watch the Video

Grab a coffee and take a walk through the woods with Carl Ahrens. The video presents 70 of his paintings, from glowing forest interiors and tree-lined landscapes to the colour-filled work of his final years.

▶️ [Watch: 70 Paintings by Carl Ahrens – https://youtu.be/BXxSiwuV9yM?si=S1DSWQ-JMZZ8vBTh]

Whether you’re a lover of Canadian art, a Cambridge and Galt history buff, or someone who just appreciates a good tree, I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Please like, subscribe and share it with someone who loves Canadian art. 🍁

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Carl Ahrens?
Carl Henry Ahrens (1862–1936) was a Canadian landscape painter born in Winfield, Ontario, and raised in Berlin (Kitchener). He is known as the “Artist of Trees.”

What is the connection between Carl Ahrens and Galt (Cambridge), Ontario?
From 1923 to 1935, Ahrens lived in an old stone farmhouse near Galt, now part of Cambridge, Ontario. He called it “Big Trees,” and the surrounding woods inspired many of his best-known works.

Who helped create this video?
It was made in cooperation with Kim Bullock, the youngest great-grandchild of Carl and Madonna Ahrens. She runs carlahrens.com and the author site kimbullockauthor.com.

How many paintings are in the video?
The video features 70 paintings by Carl Ahrens.

Where can I learn more about Carl Ahrens?
Visit carlahrens.com, the Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry, and Kim Bullock’s author site.

Bibliography

Bullock, Kim. “Life of Carl Ahrens.” Carl Ahrens: Painter of Trees. Accessed October 21, 2026. https://carlahrens.com/life-of-carl-ahrens.

Bullock, Kim. Kim Bullock – Author. Accessed October 21, 2026. https://kimbullockauthor.com/.

CambridgeToday Staff. “Connection to Famed Artist Highlighted in Recommended Heritage Designation.” CambridgeToday.ca, September 11, 2026. https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news/connection-to-famed-artist-highlighted-in-recommended-heritage-designation-12767667.

Silcox, Nancy. “Ahrens (von Ahrens), Carl Henry (Baptized Carl Heinrich) (Charles Henry).” In Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 16. University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Accessed October 21, 2026. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ahrens_carl_henry_16E.html.

Paul Langan