Thomas Hilton Garside was born in Dunkinfield, England and immigrated to Canada with his family in 1914. He first studied art under Adam Sheriff Scott in night classes at the Monument National. He later continued his studies at the Art Association of Montreal. When the AAM acquired one of his canvases for their collection in 1944, an article in the Montreal Gazette noted, “…It is a strongly painted work of dramatic qualities which reveals the steady progress being made by this young Montreal artist.”

Primarily a painter of landscape, his subjects included scenes from the Laurentian region; Baie St. Paul; Cape Cod; Murray Bay; Newfoundland and the Eastern Townships. He held exhibitions at the Stevens Art Gallery in 1945, and the Continental Galleries in 1949 and 1955. He also regularly participated in exhibitions of the Royal Canadian Academy, the Ontario Society of Artists and the annual Spring Show of the Art Association of Montreal. Garside was elected an associate of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1945. He lived in Westmount, Quebec.