Le Salon: Celebrating 35 Years of the Firestone
Collection of Canadian Art
2 August to 9 November 2008
Curated by Catherine Sinclair
Edmund Alleyn, Maxwell Bates, Léon Bellefleur, André Biéler, Molly Lamb Bobak, Paul-Émile Borduas, Frank Carmichael, Emily Carr, A.J. Casson, Stanley Cosgrove, Marcelle Ferron, L.L. Fitzgerald, Clarence Gagnon, Bruce Garner, Lawren S. Harris, Robert Harris, Edwin Holgate, A.Y. Jackson, Don Jarvis, Rita Letendre, Pegi Nichol MacLeod, Henri Masson, David Milne, Norval Morrisseau, Louis Muhlstock, Toni Onley, Alfred Pellan, Claude Picher, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Anne Savage, Carl Schaefer, Marian Scott, Jack Shadbolt, Philip Surrey, Harold Town, Severino Trinca, R. York Wilson
David Barbour, Marc Fowler, John Reeves
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Thanks to the generosity of collectors O.J. and Isobel Firestone, the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art has been a public resource for thirty-five years. The exhibition Le Salon celebrates this significant anniversary through a selection of stunning, key works by some of Canada's most influential artists. The Firestones began collecting Canadian art in the early 1950s. Working as an economist for the Government of Canada, Dr. Firestone traveled across the country, often accompanied by his wife Isobel, and personally visited many of the artists represented in the collection. The Firestones viewed collecting as the development of a public art resource, and they donated most of their holdings to the Ontario Heritage Foundation in 1972. Still in their private residence, their collection was shared with the public through tours conducted by Dr. Firestone. The Firestones continued to add works to the Collection until almost 1990, and in 1992 it was transferred to the City of Ottawa. By then its holdings comprised almost 1,600 works, and their care and public display were entrusted to the Ottawa Art Gallery. The Firestone's built their home in 1961, as much for their growing art collection as for their young family of six. Situated in the heart of Rockcliffe Park, the house resonated with a vibrancy created by an abundance of dynamic artworks. Two separate rooms were devoted entirely to works by Group of Seven painters A.Y. Jackson and A.J. Casson, and Le Salon features a similar salon-style hanging of their paintings. In 2007, OAG was fortunate enough to acquire architectural elements from the Firestone's house, and the exhibit also celebrates its unique design. Documentary photographs by David Barbour and Marc Fowler show recuperated architectural elements in their original context, while photographs taken by John Reeves show the house at a time when the artwork was still present. – Catherine Sinclair, Curator, Firestone Collection of Canadian Art
EventsIn celebration of a double anniversary we're going to party like it's 1988!
Talk with curator Catherine Sinclair (in English)
Lecture with Benjamin Gianni, Architect and Professor, Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism, Carleton University (in English) Patronage and Provenance: The Rise and Demise of the Firestone House
Anniversary Publication
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