 Surrey attended school there until age 14 when he moved to Winnipeg to complete his studies at Kelvin High School.At age 16 he was hired as an apprentice at the commercial art firm Brigdens Limited, where, on his free time, he went on sketch outings with co-workers and discovered the work of Robert Henri and the Ashcan School.At this time, he also attended evening classes given by Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald and George Overton at the Winnipeg School of Art.