Fonds LA.SC029 - Frances Loring and Florence Wyle fonds

Identity area

Reference code

LA.SC029

Title

Frances Loring and Florence Wyle fonds

Date(s)

  • [ca. 1850]-1980, predominant 1944-1968 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

1,427 photographs
40 cm of textual records
52 postcards
12 drawings
6 printing plates

Context area

Name of creator

(1887-1968)

Biographical history

Frances Norma Loring, sculptor, was born in Wardner, Idaho October 14, 1887. She studied sculpture in Geneva, Munich and Paris 1901-1905. In 1905 at the Art Institute of Chicago, she met Florence Wyle with whom she subsequently shared studios in New York (1909-1912) and Toronto (1912-1966). A member in 1920 of the Ontario Society of Artists, she was a founding member (1928) of the Sculptors' Society of Canada and a chief organizer of the Federation of Canadian Artists and the National Arts Council. Among her best-known public monuments are the lion of the Queen Elizabeth Monument in Toronto (originally near the entrance to the Queen Elizabeth Way) and war memorials at St Stephen, New Brunswick and Cambridge (formerly Galt), Ontario. Frances Loring died in Newmarket, Ontario February 3, 1968. Florence Wyle, sculptor, was born in Trenton, Illinois November 24, 1881. While studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1905, she met Frances Loring, with whom she later moved to New York. Loring moved to Canada in 1912, where Wyle joined her the following year. They each produced a considerable body of work in their studio, a converted church, in Toronto. A member of the Ontario Society of Artists (1920), Wyle was the first woman sculptor to become a full member of the Royal Canadian Academy. She was also a published writer (Poems, 1958). Among her public sculptures is the relief of Edith Cavell on the grounds of the Toronto General Hospital. Florence Wyle died in Newmarket, Ontario January 13, 1968. Loring & Wyle’s works are in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian War Museum and in several public and private buildings in Ontario.

Name of creator

(1881-1968)

Biographical history

Frances Loring (1887-1968) and Florence Wyle (1881-1968) were Canadian sculptors. Frances Loring was born in Wardner, Idaho. She studied art in Europe as well as Chicago, Boston, and New York. Florence Wyle was born in Trenton, Illinois, and studied medicine at the University of Illinois and then art at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she later taught classes. She then worked in New York where she shared a studio with Frances Loring. Loring and Wyle moved to Toronto in 1912, and in 1920 bought an old church and converted it into a studio. Loring and Wyle were both active in Canadian art movements and were founding members of the Sculptors Society of Canada in 1928. Their work can be seen at the National Gallery in Ottawa, Art Gallery of Toronto, and in the streets of Toronto on such buildings as the Toronto General Hospital and Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, and on memorials in small towns in Ontario, New Brunswick and Maine.

Archival history

The material now constituting the Frances Loring and Florence Wyle fonds was retained by the executors of the Loring and Wyle estates from about 1966 until 1983, when a major portion was donated to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). Other items not in the estates, including family and other photos were held by Frances Loring’s brother, Tom Loring. After 1983, Loring and Wyle records remained in the custody of Frances Gage (1924-2017), an executor of their estates, until some were donated in 1987 for the preparation of an exhibition catalogue, and others in 1998.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

AGO Credit Lines: Gift of the Estates of Frances Loring and Florence Wyle, 1983 and 1987; Gift of Frances Gage, 1998

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The fonds consists of photographs, correspondence and other records of Canadian sculptors Frances Loring and Florence Wyle. Loring’s records comprise correspondence (largely genealogical), lists of her sculptures, a collection of short stories, articles, newspaper clippings, biographical notes about her father Frank C. Loring, and printing plates. Wyle’s records include poems, diaries, articles, biographical information, lists of her sculptures, with prices and exhibitions, and printing plates. From both estates is a collection of photographs of sculptures by the artists along with photos of the artists themselves, their friends and relatives. Fonds also includes a small collection of Loring family photos, biographical documentation on Loring and Wyle, a scrapbook, correspondence relating to their works of art, records related to the Loring and Wyle Trust Fund and and records of the artists’ finances and their estates.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright of material in the Loring & Wyle fonds formerly belonging to Frances Loring and Florence Wyle has been transferred to the Art Gallery of Ontario. Copyright belonging to other parties, such as that of photographs, may still rest with the creator of these items. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission for the reproduction of any part of the fonds.

Language of material

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

The National Archives of Canada in Ottawa and the library of the University of Waterloo (Ontario) hold archival records of Frances Loring and Florence Wyle.

Related descriptions

Notes area

Note

Photographs include 1,413 photographic prints, 4 negatives (photographic) and 11 contact sheets.

Note

Inventories of archival material from the Loring and Wyle estates compiled in 1984 by Susan Lowe (the 1983 accrual) and in 1992 by Wendy Brown (the 1987 accrual) are available, as are inventories of the photos in series 4: Photographs.

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives, Art Gallery of Ontario

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation revision deletion

Prepared by Gary Fitzgibbon, 2008. Revised in 2016. Uploaded and adapted by Nirvana Chainani, 2019. Revised in 2024.

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related genres

Related places