In March of 1919, students at Nutana Collegiate (called Saskatoon Collegiate Institute until 1923) announced they would establish a memorial for the 29 alumni soldiers who died in the First World War. Principal Alfred J. Pyke instead suggested creating a Memorial Art Gallery that consisted exclusively of paintings by Canadian artists. They purchased one painting by a different artist for each fallen soldier.
Frederick Stanley Haines' On Balsam Lake was acquired in 1926 and dedicated to Private Donald Haig Fraser. Donald attended Saskatoon Collegiate Institute from 1916 to 1917. He enlisted on 27 April 1917 and was fatally wounded his first day at Bourlon Wood on 27 September 1918.
