David Wynard Bellhouse (1861-1952), son of artist Richard T. Bellhouse, was born in England and educated in Stuttgart, Germany and at Neuchatel, Switzerland. He articled in architectural offices in Bruges and in London, and graduated from the Royal Academy School in 1882. After emigrating to Canada in 1883, in 1896 he moved to Winnipeg to join the engineering department of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He worked briefly for Samuel Hooper (1851-1911), then opened his own office in Winnipeg in 1906.