Art Metrople – Thumb-box exhibition by Canadian Artists – 1911

While there are no photos of the art, this catalogue – with prices – from the November 11th to 25th, 1911 contains interesting details on the artists and their work. I assume most of the paintings were quite small, painted on location, using a thumb-box to hold the paints and canvas. For reference, the earliest adjusted-for-inflation details I could find only goes back to 1914 – $25 then is worth almost $650 today. I’ve listed out the text of the pamphlet below, and added some details I could find about the artists and their locations at the time, but you can see the original on the Internet Archive here.

You’ll see the following acronyms: R.C.A. – Royal Canadian Academy of Arts founded in 1880 and A.R.C.A – Associate Royal Canadian Academy of Arts the only title women were permitted to use at times.

There are some other great books related to art and artists in Toronto available on the Internet Archive, including their 148 page catalogue Art Metropole: 1906 Catalogue and price list of colors and materials

Ontario Society of Artists

Ontario Society of Artists, Toronto, Canada, Catalogue of the thirty-eighth annual exhibition (March 5th, 1910) – 50 pages, which includes many of the same painters, as well 25 black and white images of paintings, 4 images of sculptures.

The exhibit was held in the newly opened at the time Toronto Reference Library at the northwest corner of College and St. George streets on September 8, 1909, and was the largest of Ontario’s Carnegie libraries. It is now the Koffler Student Centre at U of T.

You can browse the Internet Archive for other such catalogues through to the 1923 catalogue (fifty-first exhibition) which took place March 10th to April 8th, 1923 at the Art Gallery of Ontario at the Grange.

Maxwell Andrew

Located at 160 First Avenue at the time (between Riverdale and Lesliville).

  • A Canadian Sand Hill ($25)
  • The Poplars ($25)
  • Early Spring ($20)
  • A Bright October Day ($20)
  • Don Valley Old Timer ($18)
  • Woodland Pathway ($15)
  • The Hillside Path ($15)
  • Early October Evening ($15)

Lily O. Adams (1865-1945)

Trilliums (not in catalogue) c1910 by Lily Osman Adams

Located at 468 Yonge Street at the time(near Yonge Street and Grenville Street), Lily Osman Adams had a studio on Irwin Street during the 1930’s – born 1865, died 1945 – known for her work ‘Trilliums’ c1910 in the AGO see wikipedia for more information which describes her style as “a painter who specialized in landscapes, flowers, and still life genres. Adams’ primary mediums are watercolour, pastel, and occasionally oil paint. Her landscapes are evocative of the impressionist movement where she utilizes bold brushstrokes to depict nature.”

  • Sunlit Cottage ($25)
  • In the Fields ($25)
  • Night Time ($20)
  • Moonlight ($20)
  • A Surrey Moor ($15)
  • English Smithy ($12)
  • Salisbury Gateway ($12)

F. H. Brigden (1871-1956)

Located at 92 Bay Street at the time (near Front Street), Frederick Henry (Fred) Brigden was a landscape painter in oils and watercolour, illustrator, and commercial engraver – born April 9th, 1871, died on a sketching trip in Bolton Ontario in 1956. See wikipedia for more information.

  • An Evening Note ($15)
  • The Sunlit Cloud ($15)
  • Sketch. Gatineau River ($15)
  • A North Country River ($22)
  • Grey Skies and Sea ($20)
  • A Seaside Note ($20)

Edgar Bloomfield

Vancouver, B. C.

  • A Rochester Castle
  • Canterbury Cathedral

F. M. Bell-Smith R.C.A. (1846-1923)

A Canadian Garden Party, At the Grange (not in catalogue) Frederic Marlette Bell-Smith

Located at 336 Jarvis Street (which still stands today just across the street from Allan Garden in Toronto’s Garden District) at the time, the landscape painter Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith studied at the South Kensington School of Art before he emigrated from England in 1866. He is most known for his paintings of the Canadian Rockies. For more information see his wikipedia page.

  • Hyde Park Corner ($25)
  • Glorious Autumn ($25)
  • Henly on Thames ($25)
  • Twilight, London ($25)
  • Aylesford ($20)
  • Piccadilly ($20)
  • Limehouse ($15)
  • October – Allan Gardens ($15)

Katherine A. Clark

Located at 15 Winchester Street at the time – the house in Cabbagetown was built 1880 in the Second Empire style and was given heritage designation – it was recently restored and now used by Margaret’s Housing and Community Support Servicesimage from Architectural Conservatory Ontario.

  • At the Brook
  • A Canadian Barn
  • Evening
  • A Canadian Farmer’s Home
  • In the Hayfield
  • At the Dock

Edith G. Clarke

15 Winchester Street (While listed at the same address as Katherine A. Clark, above, the family names are Clark without-an-e and Clarke with-an-e.)

  • October Woods
  • Old Willows
  • The Don Valley
  • Early Spring
  • The Creek
  • The Cloud
  • The Labourers

Gertrude Spurr Cutts (1858-1941)

Natural bridge (not in catalogue) Gertrude Spurr Cutts

19 Bowling Green Terrace, St. Ives, Cornwall, England

Ms. Cutts emigrated to Canada when she was 32 years old, in 1890 after exhibiting her work in England with the the Royal Society of British Artists and the Society of Women Artists. She had “a diverse body of work, comprising oil and watercolour paintings and pen and ink sketches; she is perhaps best known for her rural landscape paintings” from her wikipedia page.

  • Moonlight, Boscastle Harbor
  • Evening, Tintagel

Alice M. Cooper

15 Avenue Road – this is the address for the Church of the Redeemer at Avenue Road and Bloor Street West.

  • The Lighthouse Point
  • Evening on Lake Joseph
  • Evening on Lake Joseph

Caroline Farncomb (1859-1951)

Broughdale, London, Ontario – she was secretary of the Women’s Art Association and donated work to start an art gallery, today the Museum London (Ontario) based on her wikipedia page.

  • Kingsville
  • Old Fort Garry. Winnipeg
  • In the Village
  • Old Trees

Harriet Ford (1859-1938)

Piazzetta (not in catalogue) Harriet Ford, 1913

12 Elm Court, Irwin Ave – painter, muralist, and jeweller – and described as epitomizing “the Canadian New Woman.” Born on October 31st, 1859 in Brockville, she went to Toronto’s Bishop Strachan School from 1870 to 1878. More details on her wikipedia page and her National Gallery of Canada page

  • A Southern Fishing Village
  • Uplands in Belgium
  • On a Canal. Bruges
  • Drawing Madame Gangain
  • Hillside, Evening Provence
  • Sketch, Provence

Marjorie C. Fitzgibbon

291 St. George at the time (located just south of Dupont but not built in this 1904 photo?)

  • On the Banks of the Humber
  • Muskoka Vista
  • Deserted
  • Evening Glow

J. D. Kelly (1862-1958)

461 King Street W. (Wellington Place built for the Toronto Lithographing Company in 1901 by architects Gouinlock and Baker) – from the historical plaque in his honour in Warkworth: “John David Kelly, a gifted painter and illustrator, is best known for his meticulously researched paintings depicting important events in Canada’s history. Many of Kelly’s paintings and sketches were commissioned for reproduction and were widely distributed. The artist was born at Gore’s Landing in 1862 and grew up in Percy Township. He graduated from the Ontario School of Art in 1882, contributed to the noted calendars of the Toronto Art League, and was active in the Graphics Arts Club and the Ontario Society of Artists. Kelly’s historical painting is represented in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario.

  • Sunset
  • A Wayside Sketch
  • Morning. Rice Lake
  • The Coming Storm
  • Autumn on Rice Lake
  • A Cloudy Day

Marion Long (1882-1970)

36 Toronto Street

  • Laughing Child
  • Fairy Tales
  • Head of a Little Girl
  • The Last of the snow

R. H. Lindsay (1868-1938)

Brockville. Ont. – he studied at the Brockville Ontario Government School of Art and was a contributing member of the Arts Club of Montreal where he was a member since its inception in 1912. He is known especially for painting in the area of the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence River. For more information see his wikipedia page.

Lake View (not in catalogue) R.H. Lindsay 1911
  • Morning on the St. Lawrence River
  • The Stream
  • The Meadow
  • The Pines
  • Willows in Winter
  • The Red Oak
  • Evening

E. R. Glen (1867-1963)

London, Ont. – Full name wasEdward Randolph Glen

  • Sunset on the Siene
  • On the Siene
  • Notre Dame
  • Boulevard, Monfftard
  • Fruit Stand, Rue de F’or
  • Historical Barn

Beatrice Hagarty (1879-1962)

21 Walmer Road (in the Annex) – born in Toronto, she went to Paris to train at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. When she returned to Toronto she married and became Beatrice Hagarty Robertson. for more information see her entry in the Canadian Women Artists History Initiative.

  • Low Tide
  • Grey Day on the Coast
  • At High Tide
  • On the Sea Shore
  • In the Luxenburg Gardens

E. J. Hopkins

291 Carlton Street

  • Winter

J. P. Hunt (1854-1932)

423 Dundas St. London, Ont.

  • Near London, Ont.
  • Near Meadowlily Mills
  • At Wonderland
  • Broughdale

Mabel A. Johnston

Manton Ave.

  • Gardens, Paris
  • Gardens. Paris

J. E. Laughlin

Room O. Yonge St. Arcade

  • The Ford
  • Grey Day in High Park
  • In the Ravine
  • Pines
  • Autumn Tints
  • In the Park

C. M. Manley, A.R.C.A

Room S. Yonge St. Arcade

  • Running Water, The Gatineau
  • The Upper Don
  • Running Water, The Gatineau
  • Misty Morning
  • Running Water, The Gatineau
  • Running Water, The Gatineau

Mrs. A. D. Martin

23 Chocora Avenue (the Annex)

  • Echo Bay, Lake of Bays ($10)
  • Kanes Corners, Lake of Bays ($10)

Florence Proctor (1886-

111 Glen Road (Rosedale) Florence Evelyn Kemp Proctor

  • Southampton Pier
  • Southampton Beach
  • Three Days Blow
  • From the 9th Tee, Rosedale

George A. Reid, R.C.A.

Wychwood Park

  • Old Barn, Surrey ($25)
  • After Rain ($25)
  • Burning Weeds ($25)
  • Amsterdam ($25)
  • Warehouse, Dorset ($25)
  • Boats at Volendam ($25)
  • Farm Buildings, Surrey ($25)
  • A Surrey Cottage ($25)

Mary H. Reid, A.R.C.A (1854-1921)

Roses in a Vase (not in catalogue) Mary Hiester Reid, 1891

Wychwood Park – Born on April 10th, 1854 in Pennsylvania, and studied in Paris. She was best know for her floral still life paintings. In 1922 the Art Gallery of Ontario held a retrospective of her work a year after she died – the catalogue is online here in the Internet Archive. More information here and on her wikipedia page.

  • The Orchard ($25)
  • The Meadow ($25)
  • A Suffolk Village ($20)
  • In an English Garden ($20)
  • Pines ($15)
  • An English Roadside ($25)

Mary E. Richards

655 Euclid Avenue

  • A Golden Harvest
  • Peonies

Maltilda S. Samuel (1860-????)

39 Lowther Avenue (Yorkville)

  • The Brook ($10)
  • Evening ($25)
  • Early Morning ($10)
  • After Rain ($25)

Leslie Victor Smith (1880-1952)

Big Bay Point (not in Catalogue) by Leslie Victor Smith

4 Linden Street (Upper Jarvis) – born in Simcoe, Ontario in 1880 he made a name for himself as a bookplate artist, and collector (he had over 17,000 bookplates in his collection).

  • The House on the Hill ($10)
  • The Stream ($12)
  • Fishing Boats, Volendam Harbor ($15)
  • In the Fog ($10)
  • The Mill ($10)

Owen P. Staples

69 Hogarth Avenue (Riverside-South Riverdale)

  • The Beach, Centre Island ($14)
  • Rouge River, Rosebank ($12)
  • Moonlight at the Island ($12)
  • Niagara Falls ($12)
  • Night, Toronto Bay ($12)

W. R. Stark (1886-1953)

Convoy of military wagons in transit, near Le Plateau, Somme (not in catalogue) W.R. Stark – WWI end of 1916 or early 1917

538 Sherbourne Street (Upper Jarvis) – most famous for his World War I sketchbooks from Canada, England, France and Belgium from the time he served with the Canadian First Construction Battalion (later known as the First Battalion of Canadian Railway Troops). Library Archives of Canada has posted 28 photos of his art from this time on Flickr and there is a detailed account of his time in the war on the CEFRG – the Canadian Expeditionary Force Research Group (1914 – 1919) website.

  • Church at Lorette, Que. ($10)
  • Roadside in Autumn ($10)
  • Sunset on the Larentines ($10)
  • Autumn Tints ($10)

Helen E. Turquand

128 Cottingham Street (Summerhill)

  • Old Houses, Valendam ($25)
  • Haven, Volendam ($20)
  • Alone the Dike, Volendam ($20)
  • The Cloud ($20)
  • Dutch Peasant Girl ($10)

Maude M. Wilkes

217 Poplar Plains Road (South Hill)

  • Boat Landing, Nahant, Mass. ($10)
  • Breaking Waves ($10)
  • Monday (?) Morning, Nahant, Mass. ($10)
  • Taking a Dip ($10)
  • Incoming Tide ($10)
  • Mists and Sunshine ($10)
  • Bass Point from Nahant ($10)
  • Opalescent Sea ($10)

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