Ralph Burton’s Percy Street Public School, Ottawa depicts the substantial red-brick school building at Percy and Gilmour Streets in Ottawa’s Centretown neighbourhood. Opened in 1888 and later enlarged in 1907 and 1930, the school served generations of local children before closing in 1968. Burton painted the building in 1967, capturing it during its final period as an operating public school.

The façade is built up with broad passages of warm red, rust, brown and ochre, interrupted by cool turquoise-green window frames and doors that give the architecture a lively rhythm. Burton treats the building with loose, energetic brushwork rather than precise architectural detail, simplifying the dormer windows, central entrance and tall windows into expressive blocks of colour. Mature trees frame the school on both sides, their twisting trunks and fresh green foliage softening the geometry of the brick structure, while the pale pavement and strong sunlight brighten the foreground.

A slender street sign and sweeping shadows across the road add depth and reinforce the feeling of an everyday Ottawa neighbourhood scene. The clear blue sky and fresh foliage suggest spring or early summer. Painted with Burton’s characteristic directness, the work is both an engaging study of colour, light and urban architecture and an important visual record of a now-lost Ottawa landmark. After the school closed, the building remained standing for several years before being severely damaged by an arson fire in 1979 and subsequently demolished. Burton’s 1967 painting therefore preserves the appearance of Percy Street Public School shortly before the end of its original life and gives the work added historical significance.