| The Gallery |
Notes:
The Jessie Dow Prize
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, at their annual Spring Exhibitions, awarded
artists the Jessie Dow Prize from 1908-1965. This award was given for excellence
of work in oil and watercolour (extended to sculpture after 1957). Considered
the most prestigious Canadian art award it was also the longest running.
The index of artist-winners offers an important listing of artists who were
considered to be significant in their time. This benchmark prize should
serve as a valuable guide to collectors who seek quality and value in Canadian
art.
(The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts held an exhibition from February 3-March 11, 2001 featuring Jessie Dow Prize winners from 1908-1965. Artists included: Arbuckle; Bell-Smith; Brandtner; J.A. Browne; Brymner; Clapp; B. des Clayes; Coburn; Earle; Gagnon; Gorman; Haworth; A. Hébert; Hewton; A.Y. Jackson; F. M. Knowles; C.A. Law; K. Lochhead; H.M. May; J.W. Morrice; Palmer; Perrigard; Pilot; W.G. Roberts; A. Robinson; Jori Smith; Surrey; Suzor-Côte; C. Tinning. etc.)
The Salmagundi Club
Established in 1871 for "the promotion of social intercourse among
artists and the advancement of art". The Club moved in 1917 from 14
West 12th Street to a brownstone mansion at 47 Fifth Avenue, built in 1853
for Irad Hawley, president of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. In its heyday
at the turn of the century, the club included such socially prominent artists
as Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, and John La Farge.
The Royal
Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA)
The oldest national organisation of professional Canadian artists was founded
in I880 on the initiative of 26 of the country's most accomplished painters,
sculptors and architects, and, the Governor General of Canada, the Marquess
of Lorne. The purpose was to foster the visual arts in what was then a young
country. The artists subsequently known as Academicians, laid the foundations
for Canada's artistic heritage by founding the National Gallery in Ottawa,
thereby starting the Gallery's core collection. Today, with 500 Academicians,
the mission of acting as an advocate of the visual arts by presenting exhibitions,
supporting public museums, and encouraging young artists, remains true to
its origins.
Sources:
'Canada in Paintings' (The Canadian Club of New York, 1953);'The Kinship
of Two Countries: A History of The Canadian Club of New York' by Hugh Anderson,
(The Canadian Club of New York, 1964); 150 Years of Art in Manitoba: Struggle
for a Visual Civilisation, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1970; A Concise
History of Canadian Painting, Dennis Reid, (Toronto, Oxford University Press);The
Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction.Vol.1 (Vancouver:
Westbridge Publications, 1999); Le Guide Vallee II Edition (Saint -Foy:
Les Publications Charles Huot, 1989); W.J. Phillips Centenary Exhibition
(Victoria: Art Gallery of Victoria, 1984); The Canadian Encyclopedia (Edmonton,:Hurtig,
1988); www.chin.gc.ca;
www.echo-on.net/acsa/rca.html;
www.mcmichael.com.