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.
Sybil Jacobson's Reverie was acquired in 1926 and dedicated to Private Nelson Victor Emery. Nelson attended Saskatoon Collegiate Institute from 1914 to 1915. He enlisted on 4 April 1917 and died on 12 November 1918 of wounds received in Rue des Martyrs.
