Connects a single school's story to the development of Canada's wider visual arts heritage, showcasing how local institutions shape national identity. Resonates with current movements to protect local school histories, historic buildings, and archives amid urban development and budget constraints. Uncover the hidden legacy behind one of Canada's most influential art schools. Notable alumni include Terry Mosher, Joyce Wieland, Lawren Harris, Frank Carmichael, Kazuo Nakamura, Doris McCarthy, Joe Rosenthal Candid discussion of tensions, decline, and future possibilities encourages readers to reimagine how we value and protect art education today. Shows how generations of students and teachers sustained a vibrant, creative community over a century, despite shifting politics and policy pressures. Rather than offering a sanitized or purely celebratory account, the book surfaces hidden struggles, underrepresented voices, and uncomfortable truths about social inequalities within the history of a celebrated institution Implicitly critiques past and current governments and school boards for undervaluing arts education and dismantling successful locally developed programs Challenges the erosion of specialized art programs, arguing that standardization and budget cuts have damaged the unique value of specialized programs -- a position that questions dominant education reform policies in Ontario and beyond. Raises questions about who gets to access specialized arts training today, echoing broader issues of educational equity and cultural inclusion.