[2] He studied at the Slade with Alphonse Legros, in Rome at the Scuola Libera del Nudo, and in Paris at the Académie Julian with Adolphe Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury.

[2] Through his portraits, Grier won recognition and admission to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1894,[3] becoming its president in 1929-1939.

[2] Grier received an honorary Doctor of Civil Law from the University of Bishop’s College in 1934.

[2] In 1935, he was made a Knight Bachelor by the government of Richard Bedford Bennett, the first Canadian to receive a knighthood in recognition of his work as an artist.

[5] From 1897 to 1903, he served with the Royal Canadian Artillery, rising to the rank of major in command of the 9th Field Battery.