Nicolas Hornyansky (1896–1965) was born in Budapest, Hungary, where he began working in his father’s printing office at the age of twelve. He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest under Professors Ballo and Pasteiner, later expanding his studies in Vienna, Munich, Antwerp, and Paris. These years abroad deepened his skill in portrait painting, etching, and aquatint, as well as his mastery of landscape techniques with the “School of Hens” in Belgium. Hornyansky emigrated to Toronto in 1929, bringing with him a European foundation in fine art that he would combine with a distinctly Canadian sensibility.

In Dawn Doings, Hornyansky captures the quiet dignity of rural life at daybreak. His muted earthy palette and measured brushwork evoke both the stillness and underlying energy of the morning. The scene’s details—weathered shingles, bare trees, and everyday tools—are rendered with an understated precision, reflecting the patience and resilience of those who live close to the land. Hornyansky balances action and contemplation in the composition, a hallmark of his narrative style.

Beyond his studio work, Hornyansky taught metal plate media at the Ontario College of Art from 1945 to 1958, influencing a generation of Canadian printmakers. He was president of the Canadian Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers from 1933 to 1963, and was an active member of the Ontario Society of Artists, the Canadian Society of Graphic Art, and an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. His work is held in major collections worldwide, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Library of Congress, and the Pennsylvania Museum of Art, ensuring his place as a leading figure in Canadian printmaking and painting.