Records group contains records relating to the restoration and operation of the Grange House in the Art Gallery of Ontario. Includes records of programs, exhibitions, research about inhabitants of the house, and day-to-day operation as a historic house.
The Grange served as the first exhibition space for the Art Gallery of Ontario (then known as the Art Museum of Toronto) since the Gallery took ownership of this historic landmark in 1913. It continued to house the administrative staff of the Art Gallery from 1918, when the first adjacent gallery spaces were built, until the early 1970s. At that time, the Art Gallery underwent the first of three major renovations, commonly referred to as Stage I.
Concurrent with this Stage I expansion, the Grange was restored as a gentlemen’s house in Upper Canada circa the 1800s. As administrative offices and the library were incorporated into the new footprint of the Gallery, the Grange became an exhibition site and period piece, with volunteers often dressing in costume, conducting tours and hosting events and 19th century themed exhibitions.
The first staff person to manage the Grange as an historical house was appointed in 1970 under the title Custodian/Keeper of the Grange. Initially hired to oversee the Grange restoration, Margaret Machell served as Custodian/Keeper of the Grange until 1981. During that time, the Grange was administered by a department of up to 17 staff, most of whom were historical interpreters. Initially reporting to the Director, this department became part of the Curatorial Division in 1977.
In the early 1980s, during a time of financial hardship, gallery director William Withrow laid off paid staff and asked volunteers to maintain the operations of the Grange. Two full-time staff under the Volunteer Activity Division of the Gallery a secretary/coordinator (Peggy Eades) and an historic housekeeper/interpreter (Ruth Keene) supervised.
In 1997, Jennifer Rieger was hired as a curatorial assistant to oversee the Grange and the extensive collection of original furnishings, artworks and objects inherited by the Gallery as part of the original bequest from Harriet Smith (nee Dixon). She reported to the Curator, Canadian Art until 2012 when her position title changed to Historical Site Coordinator of the Grange and she reported to the Associate Director of Visitor Services.
The Grange closed briefly during the Transformation renovations under architect Frank Gehry in the mid to late 2000s and reopened with the rest of the Art Gallery in 2008, housing the members’ lounge. In 2014, the second floor of the Grange was also converted back into administrative space for staff offices. The lower floor of the Grange House now houses the Norma Ridley Members’ Lounge.
