Paul Wilkins

Paul Wilkins is an art gallery owner whose unassuming comment about a "Thomson" owner becomes the spark that ignites a much larger investigation.

In 1977, Wilkins manages a Toronto gallery where the careful handling of paintings, provenance, and artistic legacy forms part of his daily life. Thoughtful and attentive to detail, he understands the cultural significance of the works that pass through his hands. As a result, Wilkins can come across as pompous, arrogant and full of self importance. The kind of personality that clashes head on with the "no nonsense, fact seeking"  personality of Jeff O'Brian. 

In "Larry Dixon's Cabin", Wilkins serves as the catalyst that sets Jeff O’Brian’s investigation in motion. His disclosure of pursuing private owners of Thomson's works opens the first doorway into a mystery that has lingered for decades beneath the surface of Canadian art history. By bringing Daphne Crombie's ownership of a "Thomson" to O’Brian’s attention, Wilkins triggers the investigative pathway that leads back to the summer of 1917. Though not directly involved in the unfolding inquiry, his role is pivotal: the awkard moment of recognition in a Toronto gallery becomes the starting point for a journey into one of Canada’s most enduring historical mysteries.