Ronald Gissing was enthralled by the beautiful landscapes of Western Canada, and this became the main subject of his painting. However, Gissing was born in Worcester, England and immigrated to Canada at 18 years old. He settled in Calgary, where he immediately began working on a ranch, and he also produced images of cowboy activities.
Although he had a stint of art instruction in London, Gissing was primarily a self-taught artist. While living the life of a cowboy, he would travel to other prairie towns all over North America, and through these travels he encountered many different individuals. On a trip to Montana, Gissing met the famous Western artist Charles Russell, who encouraged Gissing to continue with his artistic practice after seeing some of his early sketches depicting life on the range. In 1929 Gissing held his first one-man art show at Booth’s Art Shop in Calgary. It was very successful, and led him to open up his own studio in Calgary. Gissing’s paintings depicted the beauty of nature in his realistic portrayals of Albertan landscapes.

His works are in the collections of Windsor Castle (given as gifts to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip), the Art Gallery of Alberta, the University of Alberta and the Vancouver Art Gallery, among others.