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.
Sir Edmund Wyly Grier's Spirit of Youth was acquired in 1923 and dedicated to Lieutenant Arthur S. K. Lloyd. Arthur attended Saskatoon Collegiate Institute from 1911 to 1913. He enlisted in August 1914 and was killed in the trenches at Fresnoy on 7 May 1917.
