Born in 1906 in St. Catharines, Ontario, Eric Riordon grew up in Montreal, where his family settled two years after his birth. In 1932, after studying charcoal drawing for a year at the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, he traveled to Paris to attend classes at the Grande Chaumière and the Académie Julian. Upon returning to Montreal, he painted in the Laurentians near Lac Caché, where he had spent many summers of his youth at the family home. He became known for his fine paintings of the Laurentians and gained recognition for pieces featuring sailors, beaches, harbors, and rivers—scenes inspired by observations made during his travels in Europe and North America.
In 1940, he joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and was called up for service on the East Coast. He seized the opportunity to paint a series of scenes depicting the Canadian Navy’s wartime efforts; these paintings were subsequently used in a publication on the subject. After his discharge from the navy, he built a house atop a hill, where he painted numerous scenes of the Laurentians. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1946 and exhibited at the Academy from 1937 until his death.
