William Robinson Watson, Canadian art dealer, was born in Freshfield, England in 1887. He immigrated to Canada in 1905. In 1921 Watson established Watson Art Galleries at St. Catherine and Bishop streets and in 1932 he moved the gallery to Sherbrooke St., where it remained until Watson's retirement in March 1958. Watson Art Galleries handled mainly Dutch, French, and English paintings but also were one of the first art galleries in Canada to promote Canadian art.