He became vice-president of the society in 1873 and was chosen to be the first president of the Canadian Academy of Arts by the Governor General, the Marquess of Lorne, from 1880 to 1890.

[1] O'Brien was born in Shanty Bay, Upper Canada, a village his father founded on the shore of Lake Simcoe.

[2] His father was Edward George O'Brien R.N who retired from the Navy in 1830 and went out to Canada and settled in Shanty Bay.

[3] [note 1] He graduated from Upper Canada College in 1847 and is said to have directly started work in an architect's office where he did drafting.

[6] O'Brien was one of the first artists invited to travel to and paint the Rocky Mountains on the newly completed Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886.