Nicolas N. de Grandmaison Jr. was born in 1938 in Calgary and was raised in Banff, Alberta. Grandmaison was tutored by his father, the portrait artist Nicholas de Grandmaison. He studied architecture, painting and sculpture at the University of Manitoba and Calgary and during his early years he taught sculpture in Calgary. He designed structures such as the Ptarmigan Inn and Charlton’s Court in Banff as well as the Whiskey Jack Lodge in Lake Louise. Now based in Vancouver, Grandmaison exclusively paints Western Canadian landscapes - the prairies, mountains, and marine coastline. His work is shown in Calgary, Vancouver, and Russia.