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The Collection
Patron admires Mother and Child on display at the Sarnia Public Library and Art Gallery. c.1965
Florence Wyle
Mother and Child, (c.1928)
Bronze
34"x 8" x 8"
Gift from th friends of Florence Wyle and Frances Loring, 1964
Chief Librarian Reg Bradley considering a canvas by Ronald York Wilson at the Sarnia Public Library and Art Gallery c. 1961 (approx)
Ronald York Wilson
Corner of Venice, (1958)
oil on Masonite
61 x 81.3 cm (24" x 32")
Gallery Lambton: Purchased with funds raised by the Sarnia Industries, 1958
Chief Librarian Reg Bradley considering a canvas by H.S. Palmer at the Carnegie Library, around 1956.
Herbert S. Palmer, Northern Bye Road (1954)
oil on canvas
24" x 30"
Gift from the Canadian National Exhibition Association, 1956
Miss Sadie Knowles leads a reading hour in the basement of the Carnegie Library, c. 1931
Lowrie Lyle Warrener, Happy Cottage (1926)
oil on canvas
24" x 24"
Gift of the Sarnia Women's Conservation Art Association, 1956
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Reg Bradley receiving from Alfred Joseph Casson, Crescendo (1953)
oil on masonite
30” x 36”
Gallery Lambton: Sarnia Industries Art Fund Purchase, 1956
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| October, 6th 2010 - Donor Appreciation Evening Donor Jeff Burchill with Lisa Daniels, Curator |
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Part 5- Drawing Histories,
Constructing Communities
Dated January 14, 1964
Dear Miss Wyle and Miss Loring:-
I was really delighted to get Mrs. Hungerfords letter and to learn that we are to receive the bronze "Mother and Child". Please accept our very sincere thanks for your kindness in connection with this gift which as you must realize will make a tremendous contribution to our gallery...
Yours sincerely,
R.T. Bradley,
Chief Librarian.
In the early 60's an informal and anonymous group calling themselves 'the Friends of Florence Wyle and Frances Loring' came together to enable the donation of several works to small public galleries throughout Canada. Wyle herself requested that a particularly exquisite work be designated for the Sarnia Public Library and Art Gallery in appreciation for our community's early support of the Group of Seven in a time before they had become nationally accepted or recognized artists.
Wyle was born in Trenton, Illinois, in 1881. Following a few years studying medical sciences, Wyle enrolled full time at the Chicago School of Art, where she met her life-long companion Frances Loring. After a year spent in New York City, they heard about the buzz of contemporary art in the north, and the two immigrated to Canada in 1913 to make Toronto their permanent home.
Repurposing an old Toronto church as their home and Studio, "the Girls", as affectionately known by fellow artists and friends, set upon sculpting with the same enthusiasm for their adopted country as the soon to be known Group of Seven were pioneering in painting at the time. Together, Wyle and Loring made tremendous contributions to sculpture in Canada, completing an enormous body of work including memorial commissions from the Great War, native cultures, public sculptures, as well work in early Arts organizations.
Wyle was a member Ontario Society of Artists, founded the Sculptors' Society of Canada, to which the church served as head quarters, and in 1938 she was the first female sculptor to be awarded full membership in the Royal Canadian Academy of Art. Florence Wyle continued to receive prestigious awards and recognition for her modern classicalist style until her passing in 1968, followed 3 weeks later by Loring.
'The Friends of Florence Wyle and Frances Loring' recognized the importance of the work by both outstanding sculptors, as well as the importance of art education and collections in the regions. Just as past patrons of the arts understood the importance of donation and fund-raising for enriching culture, patrons of our Gallery understand that it is the generosity of these efforts that enable us to continue to build tomorrows histories today.
01.05.2011
Part 4- Drawing Histories,
Constructing Communities
On October 21st 1958, a letter arrived for R.T. Bradley at the Sarnia Public Library, from Toronto's oldest Gallery of Fine Art, Roberts Gallery. In this letter L.J. Wildridge, asked to draw Bradley's attention to an exhibition of York Wilson paintings the Roberts Gallery was holding. Wildridge urged Bradley to visit and consider purchasing one of these recent works that he attested to being exceptionally good. Wildridge's judgement was proven spot on as this was to be the first of Wilson's exhibitions to totally sell out. A receipt followed November 3rd for the $500.00 purchase of a painting completed that year, titled Corner of Venice.
York Wilson was born in Toronto in 1907. Following 2 years of art training Wilson became a successful commercial artist employed by Sampson-Matthews, working alongside Group of Seven members, A.J. Casson, and Franklin Carmichael. Early in his career Wilson focussed a lot of time on the fine art side of his practice eventually leaving commercial work completely by the 1950's.
At the time that Bradley would have made the trip to Roberts Gallery, Corner of Venice would have been a contemporary painting by a successful Canadian artist. After completing his commissioned Imperial Oil Mural, Wilson and his wife spent exactly a year travelling through Europe, two months of which he stayed in Venice, renting a studio to begin a re-engagement with easel painting after years primarily working on commissioned murals. This time in Venice proved to be a significant experience in his career, as Venetian themes carried through his work for a number of years. During this time Wilson struggled with his pursuit of abstraction, finding that on completion, his work held a strong figurative relation to its subject. This struggle found conquest later as Wilson revisited his Venice sketches in Rome, where he put Corner of Venice to canvas.
Lela Wilson recalls, in her book about her late husband "York Wilson his Life and Work":
"R.T. Bradley, Director of Sarnia Art Gallery and one of their most important patrons, Dr. O.S. Pokorny had a special interest in York’s work from the beginning. They steadily acquired works of each period and when the Roberts Gallery was showing the Italian period, Mr. Bradley rushed to Toronto the day before the opening and selected Corner of Venice for the Sarnia Gallery."
Corner of Venice was Sarnia's first of many acquisitions of Wilson's work, and by pulling from other collections the Sarnia Public Library and Art Gallery was able to organize a touring retrospective of Wilsons work in winter 1974-75. Because of this keen insight, we now care for a number of works by this celebrated Canadian artist, and just as Reg Bradley and Dr. Pokorny made some important decisions by acquiring contemporary work, Gallery Lambton continues this tradition of making tomorrows histories today.
01.04.2011
Part 3- Drawing Histories,
Constructing Communities
Dated December 1, 1956
Dear Mr. Jacques:
The Sarnia Public Library Board is pleased to inform you that the constant promotion of interest in the art field by the Public Library has been acknowledged in a tangible way by the Fine Arts Committee of the Canadian National Exhibition.
We have just received as a gift a very fine painting by Herbert S. Palmer, R.C.A., O.S.A. the well-known Canadian painter.
The painting is valued at $450.00 and will prove a valuable addition to our already notable collection.
Yours Sincerely,
R.T. Bradley, Librarian.
Herbert Sidney Palmer was born in Toronto in 1881. He studied at what was then known as the Central Ontario School of Art and Design before studying in the studio of John William Beatty, another artist now represented in our permanent collection. Palmer went on to be a member of the Royal Canadian Academy (R.C.A.) and the Ontario Society of Artists (O.S.A.), among many other groups and positions he participated in through his career.
From 1926-1941, Palmer was the curator of the Fine Art Department of the Canadian National Exhibition. It was during this time that he acquired a nearly encyclopaedic knowledge of Canadian art production. In his own right, Palmer came to be seen and embraced for his paintings of landscapes and animals around rural Ontario scenes. A masterful draftsman, his technical abilities coincide neatly with his often bright and colourful palette.
This painting comes from an interesting period of our collections history. Reg Bradley, the head librarian for many years, was working very hard to develop the communities expressed interest in Canadian artworks. He began in earnest with exhibitions that would be brought in from out of town, with nearly all the works being for sale. From these exhibitions, the Sarnia Women's Conservation Art Association would often purchase works that ended up in the holdings at the library. It is plain to see now just how crucial this early activity was since many of the works acquired during this period form the cornerstones of our collection today.
From Bradley's efforts, the community continued to support the exhibitions, and art kept coming through Sarnia. In recognition of the developed appreciation for Canadian art in Sarnia, the Canadian National Exhibition Association donated this painting. Just as Sarnia paves the way for arts appreciation outside of the major urban centers today, Reg Bradley and the library crew were doing the same in the 1950's. Stay tuned to Gallery Lambton's progress as we continue to make tomorrows history, today.
01.03.2011
Part 2- Drawing Histories,
Constructing Communities
When the Carnegie Library was constructed in 1903, Sarnia was on the cusp of revolutionizing the public library system. Some firsts for librarian Patricia Spereman included the allowance of free access to the book stacks, the first separate children's room, along with a system for classifying children's books. Evidence of this early interest in youth can be seen in this historical image of Sadie Knowles leading a group of children through Reading Hour in the basement of the Carnegie Library in 1931. On the mantle of the fireplace behind her stands a wonderful canvas by Lowrie Warrener, purchased by the Sarnia Women's Conservation Art Association (SWCAA) of which Ms. Knowles was an integral part.
Lowrie Warrener was born in Sarnia in 1900. In the 1920's, he was struggling to afford his paints and received a loan to paint a picture of the first local branch of The Bank of Upper Canada, which was in this bright red cottage. The painting was rejected by the bank for being too happy and sunny, eventually finding a home in the library collection. Here it was praised for its bright, inviting character and was appreciated for bringing cheer down into the basement of the Carnegie Library. As it turns out, this cottage stood beside Nancy Burrowes Tea Room, where many receptions were held for the Group of Seven and other Canadian artists that were showing in Sarnia. Both of these buildings stood where the Drawbridge Inn is currently located.
In addition to this already steeped local history, Warrener has recently been credited with being one of Canada's first abstract painters. Warrener was already showing with the Group of Seven through the 1920's, highlighting how avant-garde this style was at the time. There were no other artists dealing with surface qualities, atmosphere conditions, or organic forms in quite the same way. Clouds are reduced to repeating geometric impressions whereas the tree is flattened into one plane, much like the foreground. This abstracted representation was new to Canadian painting, and it is inspiring to remember that the SWCAA was collecting and enjoying this work long before abstraction gained popular or commercial acceptance.
And collect they did! Today, Gallery Lambton has thirteen excellent examples of Warreners work, many of which are currently on tour across the country. Just as Speremans legacy continues at the Children's Library, Gallery Lambton continues to make tomorrows history, today.
01.02.2011
Part 1: Drawing Histories,
Constructing Communities
From rags to riches!
Believe it or not, the Gallery had its humble beginnings with rags. Back in 1919, the Sarnia Women’s Conservation Art Association collected and sold rags for the Red Cross, but when their services were no longer needed, they decided to sell the rags to purchase contemporary Canadian artwork that reflected their strong sense of community and national pride
Early in 1956, the chief librarian of the Sarnia Public Library and Art Gallery, Reg Bradley, received a hand-written letter from Alfred Joseph Casson, former member of the famed Group of Seven. In it, Casson explains that:
"There is one picture I would like to have sent for your show, but it had not returned from another exhibition. It is called Crescendo and is the same size as Drowned Land. It was painted in the Cloche Hills and I think it is one of the best things I have painted in recent years. The price is $350.00. ... This picture is one that I should be very pleased to be represented by any gallery collection."
The rest is history! As the above photograph attests, Bradley soon received the painting from Casson at the Sarnia Public Library and Art Gallery. When the Group of Seven formally dissolved in 1933, each of the artists spread across the country and largely assumed their own mature styles. Casson however chose to stay in Ontario and remained true to his interest in painting the areas splendid landscape.
In Crescendo, we see evidence of Casson being exposed to modernist approaches to painting as the rocks at the bottom are allowed to take their own form and shape as precedent over purely aesthetic or realist concerns. This is in many ways similar to the hard-edged focus on shape and form that Lawren Stewart Harris would take as his career progressed.
Casson passed away at the age of 93, on February 20, 1992 as the last remaining member of the Group of Seven. On his 90th birthday, he was quick to credit three things for his longevity: "A good wife, a good doctor, and a lot of good luck!" (from an unsigned Tribute to A.J. Casson, archives, Gallery Lambton). As his legacy lives on today through the wonderful paintings he created, Gallery Lambton continues to make tomorrows history, today.
01.01.2011
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