Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1914-ca.1952 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
31 photographs : b&w prints
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives at the Art Gallery of Ontario is a leading Canadian centre for research in art. It collects published and archival materials related to the collection, exhibitions and public programs of the AGO, and Canadian art in general with a geographic focus on Ontario.
The library holds more than 380,000 items including books, rare books, artists’ books, multiples, and artist files. Archival collections include the archives of the Art Gallery of Ontario and extensive special collections (artists’ archives and related collections).
The library was established in the library of the historic Grange House in 1933 when the gallery received a donation of 200 books on art from the Carnegie foundation. That same year the library opened to gallery staff and members of the public, and was soon supervised by a librarian.
The gallery’s Stage II expansion in 1977 provided a larger facility for the library, which was renamed the Edward P. Taylor Reference Library and became part of the Curatorial Division. The current facility for the Library & Archives was opened in 1993 with the gallery’s Stage III expansion. In 2017 the entrance of the Library & Archives was expanded to include a lounge space as part of the revitalization of Grange Park.
The AGO Archives, which consists of records created by the gallery, was established in September 1975 under the direction of Margaret Machell, who worked as Keeper of the Grange and AGO Archivist until her retirement in 1981. Following her departure, the Archives reported to the gallery’s administrative branch until 1989 when it merged with the Reference Library to become the Edward P. Taylor Research Library & Archives. The department was renamed the Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives in 2017.
Archival history
The photographs constituting this collection were removed from the Vertical Files on Canadian artists in the E.P. Taylor Research Library and Archives ca. 1980.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Collection consists chiefly of copies of photographs of members of the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson taken between 1914 and ca. 1952, along with some original photos taken 1926–1935 of installations of exhibitions of their work in Toronto and Ottawa in the first half of the 20th century.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Access to Special Collections is by appointment only. Please contact the reference desk for more information.
Conditions governing reproduction
Various copyright holders. Copyright may still rest with photographers of items in the collection. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the collection.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Copies of photographs in the collection are chiefly from originals in public archives and galleries in Ontario.
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Photographs of Tom Thomson, members of the Group of Seven and photos of installations of their work will be found in the Photographs of Canadian Artists collection (SC024), the Frederick Horsman Varley fonds (SC023), the Arthur Lismer and Marjorie Lismer Bridges fonds (SC021) and the AGO Archives.
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Group of Seven (Group of artists) (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Description and finding aid created 2008.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Description and finding aid by Gary Fitzgibbon, 2008.
Uploaded and adapted by Nirvana Chainani, 2019.