A leaky roof. It’s the natural enemy of all old homes. How much more so, when the roof is atop an art gallery – where dampness, let alone drips, can spell disaster for original paintings? Sometimes, when the wind blows a certain way, the rain gets in. Other times, it’s the melting snow and ice. The ceiling is beginning to show signs of staining and rot.

Before the Group of Seven were out of grade school, Queen Victoria of England owned three Homer Watson landscapes. Lord Strathcona owned several. So did Oscar Wilde, who kept up a longtime correspondence with the man he called the “Canadian Constable” after popular British painter John Constable. Homer Watson’s pastoral paintings of the Canadian countryside may have eventually been overshadowed by the edgier, slightly more garish Group of Seven’s take on the Canadian landscape. But Homer Watson was the grandfather of Canadian artists – his stature and spirit dominated generations.

Today, the house that Homer Watson lived in for half a century, wherein he kept a gallery and studio, and taught art classes, is leased by the Homer Watson Foundation. The gallery walls still display his artwork. There is a frieze that he painted as a tribute to the landscape artists of the 19th century, containing the names of 13 European artists and small scenes in each of their styles. Contemporary local artists work in the art studio. Curator Faith Heiblinger describes the house as having a spiritual quality, and speaks of rumours that it is happily haunted. But she worries about how much longer the house can remain the home of original artwork without a serious restoration.

The trouble is all in the rare design of the windows that are set into the roof. Adam Ferrie Jr. built the house in the 1830s. It was given a style of wrap-around windows set in the roof called a “Clerestory”, a new and unusual architectural detail mainly seen in Churches. According to curator Faith Hieblinger, there is a flaw in the design, and it may even require redesigning and rebuilding the windows. But contractors can’t decide on how to do it, especially if they want to retain the overall integrity of the heritage house. Meanwhile, the frieze is beginning to suffer water damage, the ceiling is rotted and in places, the light fixtures hang loose above paintings where the screws no long stay in the wood. And the general problem of damp air is putting the whole of the Homer Watson art collection at risk. And the restoration cost is beyond what the Foundation and the City of Kitchener can afford.

The Homer Watson House needs saving. The window and roof design is complicated and unique. The solution is going to take expert architectural advice and master craftsmanship in heritage buildings. There’s a lot at stake. With 125 years of Canadian art history, and the spirit of Homer Watson, this house can’t wait forever for a restoration rescue.