Fonds LA.SC016 - Gordon Conn collection

Identity area

Reference code

LA.SC016

Title

Gordon Conn collection

Date(s)

  • [ca. 1870]-1967 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

2 cm of textual records 167 photographs

Context area

Name of creator

(ca.1888-1977)

Biographical history

Gordon Conn (ca.1888-1977) was an art collector and supporter of visual art in Toronto. He studied to be a musician and worked as a painter in his youth. Although he did not pursue a career as an artist, he maintained connections with many artists. He was a friend of the painter Kenneth Forbes (1892-1980) who painted Conn’s portrait in 1935. Together with Forbes, Gordon Conn founded the Ontario Institute of Painters devoted to the display of painting based on what Forbes called “traditional” art values. Conn turned over his studio in Wychwood Park in Toronto—The Little Gallery—to a series of one-man shows of its members. Near the end of his life, he donated paintings by artists represented in this collection to public art galleries in Ontario.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

The material now constituting the Gordon Conn collection was donated by Gordon and Rheta Conn during the years 1969-1981.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The collection consists chiefly of photographs of the artists Elizabeth McGillivray Knowles (1866-1928), Farquhar McGillivray Knowles (1859-1932), George Agnew Reid (1860-1947), Mary Heister Reid (1854-1921), Mary Wrinch Reid (1877-1969) and Edmund Wyly Grier (1899-1961), their studios and works, along with related textual materials. Fonds consists of the following series: Elizabeth McGillivray Knowles Farquhar McGillivray Knowles George Agnew Reid Mary Heister Reid Mary Wrinch Reid Edmund Wyly Grier

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open

Conditions governing reproduction

Various copyright. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission for the reproduction of any part of the fonds.

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Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Allied materials area

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Notes area

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Description control area

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Archivist's note

Prepared by Amy Marshall and Gary Fitzgibbon, 2003
Uploaded and adapted by Nirvana Chainani, 2019

Accession area

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