Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1956-2011 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
8.3 m of textual records
1993 photographs
50 photomechanical prints
18 collages
13 drawings
8 film reels
6 architectural drawings
4 videocassettes
1 computer disk
1 watercolour
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Walter Moos was born in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1926. He was educated at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce in Geneva (graduated 1946) and at the New School for Social Research, New York, from 1948 to 1951. Moos moved to Toronto from New York in 1959, having become acquainted with the city through visits with his brother, an engineer, who lived there. He married Martha Wegmuller in 1962, and had two sons, Michel André and David Alfred. The Moos family has a well-established history as gallery owners. Walter Moos was a founding member of the Art Dealers Association of Canada, and served as its president from 1971 to 1978. He was the chairman of its appraisal committee from 1972 to 1989. He served on the Canadian Eskimo Arts Council from 1972 to 1982 and was the founder and past trustee of the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation. Moos died in Toronto in 2013.
Name of creator
Administrative history
Gallery Moos was opened by Walter Moos in May 1959 at the corner of Avenue Road and Davenport Road in Toronto. Early in 1963 it moved to Yorkville Avenue, becoming one of the first arrivals in what was to become a significant gallery district of the city, and subsequently prospered there for some 30 years. In July 1992 the gallery moved to 622 Richmond Street West.
Archival history
The materials now constituting the Gallery Moos fonds remained in the custody of the gallery until the first donation of material to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2002, followed by further donations in 2004 and 2012.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Fonds was received directly from Gallery Moos, donated by Walter Moos in 2002, 2004 and 2012. AGO credit line: Gift of Walter A. Moos, 2002 (2004, etc.).
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Fonds consists of corporate records of Gallery Moos, including files on artists and associated dealers and galleries, art fair participation and travel, business correspondence, publishing and administrative records and the records of David Moos and gallery director Gerard Jennings. Fonds also contains the gallery’s published material, including exhibition invitations and catalogues, posters, and limited edition publications. Two films on gallery artist Gershon Iskowitz are also included.
The accrual of 2004 consists of Series 8 and Series 9, listed below. In 2012 the accrual of material from Gallery Moos augmented Series 1–6, 8 and 9, and added Series 10–14.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
Further accruals are expected.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Access to material in the fonds—except for Series 5 (Exhibition invitations), Series 6 (Posters) and Series 7 (Films)—requires the written permission of the directors of Gallery Moos until a period of five years has elapsed from the time that Gallery Moos ceases operation. Access to Special Collections is by appointment only. Please contact the reference desk for more information.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright is retained by the creator. 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
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Material is in English and French, with some material in German, Italian, Korean, and Spanish.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Final
Level of detail
Full
Dates of creation revision deletion
Revised January 12, 2016 by Amy Marshall Furness and Gary Fitzgibbon
Uploaded and adapted by Nirvana Chainani, 2019