Fonds SC027 - Art Gallery of Ontario biographical questionnaires collection

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Art Gallery of Ontario biographical questionnaires collection

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    Fonds

    Reference code

    CA ON00012 SC027

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    Edition statement

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    Statement of scale (cartographic)

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    Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

    Dates of creation area

    Date(s)

    • 1912-1984 (Creation)

    Physical description area

    Physical description

    13 cm of textual records 2 audio cassettes

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    Archival description area

    Name of creator

    Administrative history

    The Art Gallery of Ontario Biographical Questionnaires Collection consists of written responses to forms requesting factual information pertaining to the careers of 372 Canadian artists. The Art Museum of Toronto began to solicit biographical material in 1912, a practice that was continued sporadically throughout the history of the institution. The importance of maintaining information files on Canadian artists was recognized by the first Curator, E.R. Greig who was appointed in 1912, the year the first questionnaires were sent out. Librarian Sybille Pantazzi reinstated the initiative in the 1970’s, revamping the forms to include more detailed information. Peter Gale, Senior Education Officer in the Adult Programmes Department, used the questionnaire form to provide background material to the “Toronto painting ‘84” exhibit.

    Custodial history

    Scope and content

    The Collection consists of printed forms that have been completed and signed by Canadian artists between 1912 and 1979 and a group of 24 responses to questions posed by AGO staff in 1984. The final group is concerned more with the nature of the artist’s work rather than factual and biographical information. The earliest forms were one page in length; basic information regarding birth date, education, exhibitions, awards, publications and a signature was requested. Forms sent out in the 1970’s are two pages; the 1980’s files consist of lengthy responses in essay format to 7 or 8 questions. Two of the artists from the final group submitted audio tapes that have been transcribed. An alphabetical listing of artists can be found in the administration file. Forms were completed in the following years (numbers in parentheses indicate the number of forms completed for a given year): 1912 (69); 1913 (43); 1914 (20); 1915 (16); 1916 (9); 1917 (7); 1918 (17); 1919 (6); 1921 (1); 1922 (1); 1923 (47); 1924 (22); 1925 (23); 1927 (34); 1928 (3); 1929 (1); 1930 (1); 1945 (1); 1974 (3); 1976 (1); 1979 (1); 1984 (24). Fonds is comprised of the following series: 1. Biographical questionnaires 1912-1979 2. Toronto Painting ’84 questionnaires

    Notes area

    Physical condition

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Various.

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      Script of material

        Location of originals

        Availability of other formats

        Restrictions on access

        Open. Access to Special Collections is by appointment only. Please contact the reference desk for more information.

        Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

        Various copyright holders. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the collection.

        Finding aids

        A detailed finding aid is available for this collection. A list of artists represented in Series 1 is available in the administration file.

        Associated materials

        Related materials

        Accruals

        No further accruals are expected.

        General note

        Collection formerly known as Art Museum of Toronto: Artists' Questionnaires collection. The Toronto Painting ’84 Questionnaires were treated as a separate collection prior to 2003.

        General note

        Forms dated from 1912-1918 refer to the Art Museum of Toronto, at which point the institution was renamed the Art Gallery of Toronto. Forms published after 1966 reflect the name change to the Art Gallery of Ontario.

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