DESIGN AND LAYOUTAngela Smith, Curatorial Assistant

EDITORSCaroline Riedel & Angela Smith

COVER IMAGESAltar Frontal: Christ Enthroned with Two Angels

(details of left angel) Fanny Pirrie, 1929-1930

Embroidery with glass jewels, mother of pearl shells,and pearlized moon shells on gold brocade.

Christ Church Cathedral, Victoriain the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia

reproduced with permission MaltwoodJournal

SPRING 2005

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Maltwoodart museum and gallery

u p c o m i n g e x h i b i t s

MALTWOOD GALLERY

December 2004 - January 11, 2005 “A Woman’s Place” Art and the Role of Women in the Cultural Formation of Victoria, BC, 1850s-1920s

December 25, 2004 - January 3, 2005 University and Galleries Closed for Holidays

January 19 - February 24, 2005 Art Education Faculty Exhibit

March 4 - March 24, 2005 Changing Hands: British Watercolours of the 18th and 19th Century from the Dr. S.W. Jackman Collection

March 25 & March 28, 2005 University and Galleries Closed

April 6 - September 30, 2005 Victoria: Modern - Architecture in Victoria 1945-1975 Part 1: Topaz Heights - The Living House

MC PHERSON GALLERY

December 2004 - February 21, 2005 A Gentle Migration - paintings by Mark Laver

December 25, 2004 - January 3, 2005 University and Galleries Closed

February 24 - March 24, 2005 paintings by Judith Fischer

March 25 & March 28, 2005 University and Galleries Closed

March 31 - September 30, 2005 Victoria: Modern - Architecture in Victoria 1945-1975 Part 2: Centennial Square - A Project of Renewal

Please see the ‘EVENTS’ section of our website at www.maltwood.uvic.ca or call us at 250-721-6562 for up-to-the-minute information about current and upcoming events and exhibits at the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery and the McPherson Library Gallery.

2

CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PASTRESEARCH THROUGH THE PERSONAL INTERVIEW

by Karen Waugh, Curatorial Assistant

This summer I have been fortunate to, among other things, conduct the most rewarding of all primary research: the personal interview. Perhaps this is not a joy shared by all in the research fi eld, but I believe that personal in-terviews, and the details gleaned from them, can provide an understanding and interpreta-tion that other historical documents and arti-facts simply cannot convey.

The human element is vital to the project I am currently working on titled, The Rise of Mod-

ern Architecture 1947-1973 - In Praise of Modern

Architects. The purpose of my research is to compile an accurate database of available ar-tifacts from and about a handful of Victoria architects who made notable contributions to Victoria’s architecture during the post-WWII period. The works of these architects will be on exhibit in the McPherson Gallery in the McPherson Library at UVic beginning April 2005.

In addition to searching for useful architec-tural artifacts, I have had the opportunity to personally interview the architects. They have provided me with an understanding of their work, their philosophy, and of the goals they had while designing during this period. John DiCastri, Alan Hodgson, Rod Clack, and Bob

Siddall have shed new light on the modern ar-chitecture movement in Victoria, and I have greatly appreciated the passion, the thought, and the articulation they each brought to the interview process. I have also been fortunate to meet with the surviving partners of other architects who have since passed on. Terry Williams and David Hambleton enthusiasti-cally shared with me their memories of John Wade and Don Wagg respectively.

I feel a great deal of excitement about the re-search I have conducted for this project, as I have been able to locate a great array of ar-chitectural plans, artistic renderings, archi-tectural models, planning documents and the like. I have also been fortunate to take part in the exhibition planning process, and I have accumulated a new skill set in that arena, which will benefi t me in my graduate stud-ies. The Community University Research Alliance (CURA) and DOCOMOMO-BC (Documentation and Conservation of the Modern Movement) in conjunction with the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery, have again provided me with a unique, valuable, and challenging summer work experience.

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In April I completed my Masters in Fine Arts (Visual Arts) at the University of Victoria. The bulk of my artistic experience to that point had been studio related, but I heard that the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery was looking for some curatorial help and I stuck my neck out and applied! Luckily they hired me, from my first day in June until my last day in September, each day was a new discovery.

Over the summer I worked as gallery publi-cist while also research-ing an exhibition of 18th and 19th century British watercolours scheduled to open March 2005. I had hung many exhibi-tions of contemporary art in artist-run centres over the years but the ex-perience of preparing this exhibition for the Maltwood was very different! The task re-quired that I meet with and interview Dr. S. W. Jackman (donor and Uvic faculty alum-nus), research that period of British painting, assess the physical condition of the works in our collection and design the overall look of the exhibition. As part of this process, I even had some correspondence with the Nation-

al Portrait Gallery of Scotland, it was all so much fun!

The Maltwood has thousands of artworks downstairs in the study gallery at Universi-ty Centre and I got to spend the majority of my time working down there amongst all of

them. Heaven for an art-ist, there are just so many masterful works to study; there are display cases of organic looking Art Nou-veau dishware, wooden African carvings, West Coast Native baskets, porcelain Asian sculp-tures, beautiful British furniture, and so much more!

The biggest change in thinking for me this summer was to shift from the mindset of a person who ‘makes’ art, to that of the person who helps ‘preserve’ art. It was wonderful to experience first hand the lengths that museums, through their curators, preparators and historians, go in order to pre-serve the World’s rich artistic history.

All said, the summer was a real joy. Thanks Maltwood!

A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVESTUDIO ARTIST TO CURATORIAL ASSITANT

by Danielle Hogan, Research Assistant & Publicist SPECIAL THANKS TO OURDONORS OF THE PAST 5 YEARS:

Mr. Ian Baird · Major (Ret.) C.A. & Dr. Pat Martin Bates · Mr. Phillip Bates · Mr. Alan Bell · Mr. Fritz Boehm · Mr. & Mrs. Da-vid F. Bradley · Dr. & Mrs. Bruce Brown · Mr. Tony Brown · Mrs. Jane Chapman · Dr. Joan Coldwell · Mrs. Alexandra Cowie · Mr. Harold Craven · Ms. Gwen Curry · Dr. G. Downes · Dr. Murray Edwards · Mrs. Manon Elder · Mr. Tony Emery · Mr. Mark & Mrs. Alison Faulkner · Mr. Sydney Felber · Mrs. Jocelyn Floyer & Mr. Ron-ald F. MacIsaac · Mr. Pat & Mrs. Janette George · Dr. William Gibson · Mrs. Marga-ret Haines · Prof. Donald Harvey · Dr. Ed-ward Harvey & Dr. Lorna Marsden · Ms. Vicky Husband · Ms. Elizabeth Illg · Dr. Henry Jackh · Dr. S.W. Jackman · Mr. & Mrs. Neil Jackson · Dr. Stephen M. John-son · Dr. Flemming Jorgensen · Mr. Gene A. Joseph · Mr. Gary Karr · Drs. Burton & Erika Kurth · Mr. Joseph Kyle · Dr. Daniel Lampa · Mr. Bob Lane · Mrs. Terri D. Lang · Mr. Eric & Mrs. Julia Lavell · Mr. Patrick Lawson · Dr. Gordana Lazaravich · Mrs. Majorie Levirs · Dr. K. Lilley · Mr. John Livingston · Mr. Jamyang Lodto · Mrs. Eunice Lowe · Mrs. Jo Manning · Mrs. B. Mary Martin · Mrs Helen McLellan · Mrs. Loula Mearns · Mr. Eric Metcalfe · Mr. John Minshall · Mr. & Mrs. James Mitch-ell · Ms. Christine Mullins · Ms. Gillian Murray · Mrs. Maida Neilson · Dr. Laurel Osborn · Ms. Edith Page · Dr. Judith Patt · Dr. Myfanwy Pavelic · Mrs. Joan Peet · Mrs. Joyce K. Piercy · Mrs. Olive Quayle · Ms. Nina Raginsky · Mr. Derek R. Reimer · Mr. Vincent Rickard · Dr. & Mrs. Walter Riedel · Mr. Richard Rivet · RME Capital Corporation · Mr. & Mrs. Joe Rosenblatt · Dr. Don Rowlatt · Mr. Henry Rozsa · Dr. Carole Sabiston & Mr. Jim Munro · Mr. George M. Sanders · Mr. & Mrs. Philip Sanders · Mr. William Schmidt · Mr. & Mrs. Graham A. Scholes · Mr. & Mrs. Prithviraj Sen · Mrs. Cora Shaw · Mrs. Elizabeth Silvester · Ms. Brigid Skelton · Dr. Peter Smart · Mrs. Joan Smith · Mr. Bruce Smith · Mr. Karl Spreitz · Ms. Marie Stoney · Mrs. Beryl Tanner · Dr. Chris Thomas · Mrs. Beverley J. Wallace · Dr. Anthony Welch · Mr. Gary White & Mr John Veillette · Estate of Dr. Michael Collard Williams · Dr. L.A. Wolch · Mrs. Margaret Wright

AND TO OUR SUPPORTERS:

Community University Research Alliance (CURA) · Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council · Summer Career Placement Program · Work Study Program · Young Canada Works Program, Heritage Canada

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORMartin Segger

A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITE THINGS...Ross Macaulay & Cheryl Robinson

WORKING WITH “A WOMAN’S PLACE”Kate Daley

EXPLORING VICTORIA MODERNBeth Macdonald

INTERPRETING ICONSCatlin Lewis

RECENT ACQUISITIONSCaroline Riedel

COMMUNITY-UNIVERSITY TEAMWORKBarbara Winters

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

LONG DAYS SWEPT PASTRobbyn Gordon

A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVEDanielle Hogan

CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PASTKaren Waugh

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LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORby Martin Segger, Director

2004 marks the penultimate year of the Malt-wood’s involvement with the Community University Research Alliance (CURA) pro-gram. As summarized by Barbara Winters, this program has brought together faculty, student research assistants and community cultural organizations on seventeen projects and has produced some significant exhibitions and publications, some of which are described on the following pages.

The Maltwood and the CURA program have provided experiential learning opportunities for many students from a number of disci-plines. Kate Daley, a student in the Cultural Resource Management Program writes about her work with Dr. Ann Finlay and Ms. Jen-nifer Iredale the CURA project “A Woman’s Place: Art and the Role of Women in the Cul-tural Formation of Victoria 1880s to 1920s.” This exhibit has brought together art and ar-tifacts from Christ Church Cathedral, Point Ellice House, the Sisters of St. Ann, the Royal BC Museum, the BC Archives, Craigdarroch Castle and the Art Gallery of Greater Victo-ria. A successful public symposium on Wom-en and Art in Victoria 1850s-1920s was held in November, and we look forward to hosting similar public events in the next year.

The CURA program has also provided some unique opportunities for primary research, as outlined by History student Karen Waugh and History in Art alumna Beth Macdonald. The upcoming Victoria Modern exhibit will feature modernist architecture centred around Centennial Square and a post-war housing subdivision in Victoria. Former residents of the Topaz Heights neighbourhood and a number of local architects have participated in ongoing interviews.

None of this work would be possible with-out the generous funding we have received from the Canadian Museums Association, the Summer Career Placement program and UVic’s co-operative education program. The Maltwood’s art collection also continues to grow through the generosity of donors. Cat-lin Lewis focuses on a significant donation of 17th-19th century Russian icons, and Caroline Riedel highlights some of the recent additions of contemporary and modern BC ceramics to our decorative art collection.

My sincere thanks to our 2004 curatorial team and their contributions to exhibits, events, catalogues and academic course content for the coming year.

While developing the exhibition pro-posal, my partner and I worked at both the Aqaba Museum – a small but educational facility in the tourist/port city of Aqaba, located on the Red Sea – and at the Humayma site where teams of people toiled digging, map-ping and documenting the area and its archeological riches. Long days at the site swept past while we interviewed Jordanian colleagues, North Ameri-can student volunteers and profession-als from various universities. I would spend break times photographing peo-ple at the site interacting over lunch, tea and conversation. I took hikes up the surrounding jebels (mountains) to get the best shots possible of Hu-mayma’s incredible landscape, timid wildlife and elusive vegetation. For a change of scenery, even longer days were spent in Aqaba pouring over

artifacts, selecting and re-selecting which items at the museum would be the most fascinating to the most visi-tors. My research never stopped.

By the end of my month and a half in Jordan, at the end of July, I had an arsenal of over twelve hundred im-ages under my camera strap. My de-signs for artifact display cases were finalized and our proposal had been completed, with accompanying text, display design, and artifact selection. My departure from Jordan, though full of mixed emotions was as incred-ible as my arrival. The vast city grew smaller and smaller under layers of speed and space. Soon I had arrived back in Canada, and though I had fi-nally returned home, I have yet to be able to escape the beauty and culture of Humayma, Jordan.

An exhibi-tion of the Humayma site and our time spent in Jordan is tentatively scheduled for winter 2005 in the University of Victoria McPherson Library Gallery.

left - Humay-ma landscape 2004

right - Abu Sabah and the ever-elusive hedgehogs

20 5

The decent into Amman was incredible. An array of many-sized and coloured lights burst into view through the inadequately paned air-plane window. Noise from the plane was now overwhelming. Excited children and exhaust-ed parents stirred in anticipation of home’s imminent approach. Landing in the capital city seemed the defini-tive beginning of a month and a half of excitement, discovery, and very hard work. It was 3 a.m. Jorda-nian time, but felt like 2:30 p.m. Victoria time, on an unusually hot and muggy summer’s day. The night was a warm blanket.

I had been selected, along with a colleague, to de-velop a feasible exhibition of artifacts and images from the archeological site of Humayma. The site is a treasure trove of items and architecture, wildlife and land. Inhabitation of Humayma began with its cre-ation in the first century CE by Nabataeans and continued with Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic people in turn occupying the site through the seventh century. The Romans added a fort and a large reservoir to the Naba-taeans’ extensive and elaborate hydraulic sys-

tem of aqueducts, reservoirs, run-off fields and cisterns. A culture shift into the Byzan-tine era is evidenced in the addition of archi-tecture; five Byzantine churches are known to be at the site. Later, the Islamic Abbasid fam-ily lived at Humayma while they purportedly plotted the over throw of the ruling Umayyad

leaders. Since then, two main Bedouin families continue to inhabit the historic site.

The goal was to curate a proposal for photo-based exhibitions at the Aqaba Museum, and at a Visi-tor’s Centre in the midst of construction located at the dig site. Our tentative audience was to be inclu-sive of Jordanian travel-

ers, local residents and school groups, eco-tourists and professional scholars visiting the area. To make this curatorial opportunity even more fantastical, the projects’ Director, Dr. John Peter Oleson (Greek & Roman Studies Department, U-Vic), handed me twenty rolls of film. My direction was essentially to shoot what I wanted of the land, people, art and cul-ture for eventual exhibition. For a photogra-pher like myself, this was paradise.

LONG DAYS SWEPT PASTONE VIEW OF HUMAYMA, JORDAN

by Robbyn Gordon, Curatorial Assistant

A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITE THINGS...REVIEWS OF THE RECENT ‘STAFF PICKS’ EXHIBIT

by Ross Macaulay, Curatorial Assistant & Cheryl Robinson, Administrative Assistant

Ross Macaulay: One of the great tragedies of working in a museum or gallery is that you can never fully express the relationship and understanding developed with the art you work with daily to the average visitor. Secret mythologies and personal notoriety surround many objects the staff comes in contact with regularly. Each of us here at the Maltwood have pieces we love, pieces we hate, ones we would hang in our houses and ones we would wish we had never seen. Unfortunately, some of the most loved works in collection have never been on public display. Often, this is because they do not group neatly into exhibits or are too delicate for permanent display. The underdogs, the hidden, the forgotten, these were the untapped resources that in-spired the Staff Picks: Highlights for the Maltwood Gallery exhibit. The exhibit was a great opportunity for the entire staff to come together and

share a behind the scenes per-spective on the vast collection held in the care of the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery.

Canadian Winter Pattern, on Ronnie’s Shirt

Frank Pimentel, 1987, Colour Photo U995.3.1-9

The Red House

Jack Shadbolt, 1946, WatercolourU952.1.2

Cheryl Robinson: A student’s creative thinking and a four week gap in the Maltwood’s exhibition schedule at the McPherson Library Gallery gave birth to the first “Staff Picks” exhibition. We were given carte blanche to select our favourite pieces for display in this newly renovated space from the Malt-wood Art Museum & Gallery Collec-tion....what freedom! To fully appreci-ate the choices made, you have to know the varied people/occupations behind the selections. From Auditorium Tech-nicians, Graduate Students, Secretary, Curator and even the Director came an array of artistic discipline and beauty.

6 19

This summer turned out to be a very busy and educational one for me. I had the exciting opportunity to participate in the project development of “A Woman’s Place”: Art and the Role of Women in the Cultural Formation of Victoria, BC 1850s-1920s. This project is yet another initiative of the CURA program. It started a few years ago, with an exhibition of art produced by the women who had lived in the four heri-tage homes in Victoria; Point Ellice House, Helmcken House, Craigflower Manor and Carr House. From this beginning, it ex-panded to include all manner of art produced by women in early Victoria, including, but not exclusive to, weaving, china painting, basket weaving, photography, interior de-sign, needlework, architecture, painting and drawing. Through extensive primary re-

search, we were able to feature 40 women of diverse economic and ethnic backgrounds and their art. The final exhibit, now on display at the Maltwood, showcases over 200 objects borrowed from 12 private and public collections in Victoria. These include the BC Archives, the Royal BC Museum, the Sisters of St. Ann’s Ar-chives, Point Ellice House, Craigdarroch Castle and several others. We were also able to produce a full catalogue for the exhibit. Dr. Karen Finlay, adjunct professor in the History of Art Department at Uvic, headed the project up.

My role in all of this started as a volunteer researcher and developed into a curatorial assistant. Over the summer I was able to gain valuable experience working with Dr.

WORKING WITH “A WOMAN’S PLACE”A ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ LOOK AT THE EXHIBIT

by Kate Daley, Curatorial Assistant

Enduring Threads: Ecclesiastical Textiles

of St. John the Divine Church, Yale, British

Columbia, Canada is a joint publication of CURA, the BC Heritage Branch, the Fraser Historical Society, and the Yale Historical Society. Liturgical textiles from the Yale collection have been mounted in a permanent display in St. John the Divine Church, a BC historical site. Some pieces are cur-rently on loan to the Maltwood for the “Woman’s Place” exhibition.

Drawing on Identity: Inkameep Day School

and Art Collection, a Virtual Museum of Canada web exhibit developed by Dr. Andrea Walsh, Dept. of Anthro-pology, is one of the many outcomes of a CURA project with the Osoyoos Museum and Osoyoos Indian Band. The story of the Inkameep School and its students has captured wide public attention and the virtual exhibit has received thousands of visits. Dr. Bob Dalton and Dr. Bill Zuk, Faculty of Education, designed the educational component of the site, which is popu-lar with teachers and students across Canada. To view the VMC exhibit go to www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/

Inkameep/english/index.php.

Several CURA projects are still under-way. From January to April 2005, the Royal BC Museum will host Shashin:

Japanese Canadian Studio Photography

to 1942. This exhibition, curated by Grace Eiko Thomson, is the result of a project with the Japanese Canadian National Museum in Burnaby, which is co-directed by Dr. Phyllis Senese, Dept. of History at UVic. The exhibi-tion has received additional funding from the Museums Assistance Pro-gram of Canada and it will travel to other venues across the country.

The Maltwood Gallery will host two exhibitions in 2005: the first will fea-ture modernist architecture in Victo-ria (the Topaz Heights development) as part of a collaborative project with DOCOMOMO.BC; the second will feature the art collection of Robert Aller from Port Alberni, as part of a project with the Community Arts Council of the Alberni Valley.

For more information on the CURA Program, its projects and other activi-ties, please go to the CURA website at cura.uvic.ca. CURA events at the Maltwood Gallery are posted on the Maltwood website at maltwood.uvic.

ca. CURA publications are available at the Maltwood Gallery, the UVic bookstore, or through the CURA community partners.

Please see the ‘Recent Publications’ on

page 18 for more details about publications

available from the Maltwood.

The story of Inkameep School and its students has cap-tured wide public at-tention and the virtual exhibit has received thousands of visits.

18 7

China and BeyondThe Legacy of a CultureKathlyn Maurean Liscomb assisted by Elizabeth J. MarkusMaltwood, 2002

CURRENT PUBLICATIONSPUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE AT THE MALTWOOD

“A Woman’s Place” Art and the Role of Women in the Cultural Formation of Victoria, BC 1850s-1920sK.S. Finlay, ed.Maltwood, 2004

Explorations in WoodVancouver Island Wood-workers Guild ExhibitMaltwood StaffMaltwood, 2002CD ROM

The Williams LegacyContemporary Art of the Pacific NorthwestNicholas TueleMaltwood, 2003

Caetani di SermonetaAn Italian Family in Vernon 1921-1994Catherine Harding, ed.Greater Vernon Museum and Archives, 2003

Enduring ThreadsEcclesiastical Textiles of St. John the Divine ChurchYale, BC, CanadaJennifer Iredale, ed.Historic Yale Museum, 2004

Legh Mulhall KilpinTeacher, Painter,PrintmakerBarbara Winters, ed.Langley Centennial Museum, 2003

Helen McCall’sCommunity AlbumTara Gregg & Mike Steele, ed.Sunshine Coast Mu-seum & Archives, 2003

Finlay. I am currently working on my Cultural Resource Management diploma in the Continuing Studies Department here at UVIC, so this practical experience was a great introduction for me to curatorial work.

I was able to learn about care and handling of artifacts, loan agree-ments, usage requirements, pho-tography, label copy, conservation, installation plans and requirements, proposal writing, editing, and more editing. The most exciting stage of the project was definitely the last two weeks, when we installed the exhibit at the Maltwood. It was amazing to see the space go from looking like a jungle of bubble wrap and acid-free tissue to actually looking like a real

museum over a couple of days. Final-ly seeing all our rough sketches and notes come to life was very gratifying. The Maltwood staff was a great help and taught me a lot about mounting, matting, framing and hanging art.

The next stage in this project will be, pending the acceptance of our pro-posal, a virtual exhibit of “A Woman’s Place.” In this exhibition we hope to expand our research and provide a more permanent gallery to exhibit this diverse collection of women’s art production.

Details of the exhibition catalogue can be seen in our ‘Recent Publications’ on page 18.

“A Woman’s Place”: Art and the Role of Women in the Cultural Formation of Victoria, BC 1850s-1920s will be exhibited at the Maltwood Gallery until January 11, 2005.

left - Christ from Fanny Pirrie’s altar frontal ‘Christ Enthroned with Two Angels’

right - the exhibit cata-logue, avail-able at the Maltwood Gallery

8 17

In September 2002, I did not realize that photographing the modest houses in Topaz Heights would lead me to be involved as an assistant curator for a museum exhibit. My interest is in religion and art. But by photo-graphing these little houses, I was won over to Modern architecture. Though there has been lots of stumbling along the way, I have been able to participate in the process of ex-hibition development and production through research, interviewing early residents, and teamwork. In June, I was fortunate to receive funding from SSHRC-CURA and the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery to research other devel-

opments built by Housing Enterprises Ltd., the construction company who developed To-paz Heights. It was a limited dividend com-pany mandated and financed by the Federal Goverment and operated by insurance com-panies. The company built 3,200 homes in 28 cities across Canada beginning in 1946. I be-gan in Calgary and continued on to Edmon-ton, Saskatoon, and Regina, discovering that each city and each development had unique stories and continuing commonalities. I dis-covered that no other western city has the same Modernist architecture as Victoria.

Throughout the summer 2004, the team - Martin Segger, the director of the Maltwood

EXPLORING VICTORIA MODERNAN INSIDER’S INSIGHT INTO THE UPCOMING EXHIBIT

by Beth Macdonald, Curatorial Assistant for the upcoming Topaz Heights exhibit

Caetani collection. To view the site, go to: www.vernonmuseum.ca/caetani/index.

php.

The World Tea Party Victoria, an exhi-bition held from June to August 2004 at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, was the result of a three-year CURA project directed by Dr. Judith Patt and community partner Bryan Mulvi-hill. An extensive series of gallery and community events organized in con-junction with the exhibition, including tea tastings, lectures, and demonstra-tions, generated a large and enthusias-tic audience. The exhibition catalogue, The World Tea Party Victoria, written by Dr. Patt and her student assistants, provides an overview of the origins of tea rituals and tea-related art from many different cultural traditions that continue to enrich our lives today.

The Maltwood Art Museum is cur-rently hosting ’A Woman’s Place’: Art

and the Role of Women in the Cultural

Formation of Victoria, BC, 1850s-1920s, an exhibition that runs until January 11th, 2005. The exhibition and cata-logue are the result of one of the most extensive CURA projects, involving more than 30 UVic student research-ers, under the direction of Dr. Karen Finlay and Dr. Carol Gibson-Wood from UVic and Jennifer Iredale from the BC Heritage Branch. The research

has encompassed art from many public and private collections in Victoria and highlights the contributions of numer-ous professional and amateur women artists to the cultural history of Vic-toria. A public symposium held at the University Centre and Maltwood Gal-lery on November 28th featured sev-eral guest speakers on topics related to the project.

Several other CURA project cata-logues have recently been published. Helen McCall’s Community Album was designed by CURA community partner Bill Gregg, UVic co-op student Becky Leung, and staff at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives, with research contributions and text from Dr. Ariane Isler-de Jongh, Dr. Lynne Marks, and student Jocelyn Statia. The catalogue features the story and work of pio-neering photographer Helen McCall, who documented life on the Sunshine Coast from 1920 to 1940. Legh Mul-

hall Kilpin: Teacher, Painter, Printmaker, written by Barbara Winters and three History in Art graduate students, was an outcome of a project in partnership with the Langley Centennial Museum. Excerpts from the catalogue and ac-cess to the museum’s large collection of Kilpin’s art are available on its web-site at www.langleymuseum.org/kilpin/

continued on page 19...

The [ʻA Woman s̓ Placeʼ] exhibition and cata-logue are the result of one of the most extensive CURA projects, involving more than 30 UVic student re-searchers...

16 9

COMMUNITY-UNIVERSITY TEAMWORKCURA PROGRAM UPDATE

by Barbara Winters, CURA Program Coordinator

This has been a busy year for the SSHRC-Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) Program as it approaches its end date in the spring of 2005. The program, adminis-tered through the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery and the Department of History in Art, has supported seventeen community research projects since its inception in 2000. Many of the CURA projects have now concluded and have produced exhibitions, publications, com-munity events, websites, and other results to disseminate new knowledge about important cultural collections located in communities throughout British Columbia.

In the fall of 2003, the Vernon Museum and the Vernon Art Gallery jointly hosted a CURA project exhibition Caetani: Visions

of Rebirth, which displayed artifacts, archi-val material and art related to Vernon artist Sveva Caetani (1917-1994) and her family. Caetani works from the Vernon art collection travelled to UVic, where they were shown at the McPherson Library Gallery. An exhibi-tion catalogue entitled Caetani di Sermoneta: An Italian Family in Vernon, 1921-1994 was produced by the UVic research team under the direction of Dr. Catherine Harding. The Vernon Museum has a website that features excerpts from the catalogue and access to the

Anne FinlayCurator

Angie RobertsDonor

Tusa SheaResearch Assistant

Kate DaleyResearch Assistant

Jennifer Iredale

Co-Curator

Gallery; Chris Thomas, an Assistant Professor in the History in Art de-partment at U-Vic who specializes in North American architecture; Steve Shortt, who for 20 years collaborated with architects and engineers on de-sign development and specification for theatres and is now a History in Art student; and myself, a 2004 graduate with distinction in History in Art - met to work out the exhibition’s direction and funding. I found myself drafting a grant proposal to Canada Council to fund what we hope will be a bench-mark exhibition for Modern architec-ture. Karen Waugh, a History student who worked with us last summer, re-turned to research the architects living in Victoria who designed in the Mod-ern style. She created a database of materials related to the buildings they created. Ross Macaulay, a Maltwood student assistant with experience in designing and installing exhibits for both the Maltwood and McPherson Galleries, has also contributed his ex-pertise. He is also using this project as a guinea pig for his ‘Exhibition Brief’, which collects key information on an exhibit to inform new participants of the themes, goals, and any other im-portant information. With much help from a new team member, Christopher Lefler, an Architecture PhD Candi-date from Melbourne University in Australia, the direction of the exhibi-

tion and the grant solidified.

The aim of the exhibition is for visitors to understand essential characteristics of Modern architecture, its unique ex-pression in Victoria, a general back-ground of Canadian post-war housing and its social, political and economic influences. The accumulative outcome is to assist visitors’ growth in archi-tectural literacy and awareness of the built environment around them, in hopes of motivating the community to preserve the relatively few post-war constructions that survive.

Topaz Heights is located between Quadra and Blanshard Streets and Finlayson and Tolmie Avenues. I en-courage you to visit Centenniel Square and to look with fresh eyes.

Please email me at eamacdonald@telus.

net or leave a message at 250-386-5910 if you have any information or anec-dotes you would like to share about Modern architecture in Victoria.

The ‘Victoria: Modern - Architecture in Vic-

toria 1945-1975’ series of exhibits is tenta-

tively scheduled for April 2005.

* thanks to Marie Hubkova for the elevation sketch

It began as “Glasgow Subdivi-sion.” Re-search re-vealed it to be “Topaz Heights.”

10 15

This year the Maltwood received an exciting donation from Dr. Bruce and Mrs. Dorothy Brown: a collection of sixteen Russian icons, dated between the 17th and 19th centuries. The icons differ greatly in size, from large paintings on wood to tiny enamel pendants. They also come in a number of shapes, includ-ing crosses, triptychs (three panels joined to-gether by hinges), and minute icons which are worn as jewelry.

In Greek, the word icon simply means “im-age.” However, the importance of religious “portraits” in early Christian art quickly caused the word to take on a new, more pro-found meaning. It is believed that the first icon was an image of the face of Christ, which miraculously became imprinted on a piece of cloth, and was sent to an ailing king who had prayed for His assistance.

INTERPRETING ICONSRUSSIAN ICONS COME TO THE MALTWOOD

by Catlin Lewis, Curatorial Assistant

Saints Gury, Samon, and Aviv,

4th century. Patrons of fam-

ily and Marriage. Lithograph on

metal, late 19th - early 20th century

DONATIONS RECEIVED AS OF NOVEMBER 2004

Delftware plates, 18th and 20th century Mrs. Joan Smith

Three sculptures by Jay Unwin Dr. Kenneth Lilley

Arbutus, painting by Anne Popperwell Mr. Ron MacIsaac

Chinese scroll, contemporary Dr. A. Welch

Inuit carving Dr. Stephen Johnson

Untitled painting by Gordon Smith Mrs. Marjorie Levirs

Works by Marion Small Estate of Marion Small

Ceramics by contemporary BC artists Dr. Judith Patt

Prints, Chinese robe, Acadian rug Mrs. Elizabeth Silvester

Works by Colin Graham, Carole Sabiston and others Mr. Bob Lane

Modern BC, American and English ceramics Estate of Ossie (Leonard) & Mary Osborne

Two-volume book Wit Stolz Mrs. Helen McLellan

Four prints by John Webber Mrs. Alexandra Cowie

Four prints by Jo Manning Mrs. Jo Manning

Hand and production BC art pottery, 1950-60 Mr. John Veillette

Works on paper by Hurley and Cullinson Mrs. Margaret M. Wright

Chinese blue and white ceramics Dr. SW Jackman

British landscape and sporting prints Dr. SW Jackman

works by British Columbia artists, in-cluding Kinichi Shigeno’s whimsical Boot Teapot; an elegant thistle teapot by Judy Weeden and delicate Japa-nese tea bowls by Lynne Johnson.

We would like to extend our thanks to all of our donors for their generous gifts and look forward to incorporat-ing them into our exhibition and edu-cation mandates.

14 11

RECENT ACQUISITIONSNEW ADDITIONS TO OUR CERAMIC COLLECTIONS

by Caroline Riedel, Curator of Collections

This year, the Maltwood received a signifi-cant donation of over thirty ceramic pieces from the estate of Mary and Ossie (Leonard) Osborne. Not only does this donation fea-ture some of the Osborne’s finest work, it also contains examples of pieces by several of their contemporaries and mentors such as master British potter Bernard Leach (1897-1979) and California ceramic art-ist Marguerite Wilden-hain (1896-1985). Leach is considered one of the most prominent British studio potters of his time. Wildenhain was the first pottery student at the German Bauhaus in 1919 but emigrated soon after to the United States be-cause of rising anti-Semi-tism. She set up an artist cooperative known as Pond Farm in Guerneville, California and also ran a summer school. Leonard and Mary became life long friends of hers.

Leonard was born in 1911 in Coventry, Eng-land and emigrated to Canada in 1937. Mary was born in 1907 in Rotterdam. They both studied at the University of British Colum-bia with Rex Mason and, as mentioned, with

Wildenhain in California. The Osbornes moved to Saanich in 1960 and opened Os-borne Pottery Studio on West Saanich Road. Their innovative modernist designs have also been exhibited in Brussels, Paris and Flor-ence as well as Canadian Ceramics ’57 and ’61, Expo 67 in Montreal. A bowl and vase

by Leonard and Mary respectively were most recently exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery’s A Modern Life: Art and Design in British Colum-bia 1945-1960 exhibit this year. The Maltwood is pleased to add their work to our westcoast modern ceramic collection.

This gift is complemented by a donation by adjunct

professor of History in Art, Dr. Judith Patt. Dr. Patt was co-curator of this past summer’s World Tea Party exhibit at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. This exhibit focused on the influence of tea on the world’s artistic and social cultures. It was one of seventeen Com-munity University Research Alliance projects based out of the University of Victoria. Fol-lowing this successful exhibit, Dr Patt donat-ed some of the most innovative contemporary

The life of the icon painter is of great importance, as his or her spiritual pu-rity is essential to the creation of a holy image. He or she must fully participate in the life of the church, and regularly seek council with the local religious leader. The artist must also fast dur-ing the creation of the icon. Leading a good life is deemed more important than technical skill, and so an icon painter need not be a professional art-ist. The images follow a set of tradi-tional representational conventions adhered to even today. The Brown icons, although painted long after the early days of the Orthodox church, still bear a striking resemblance to icons from the Byzantine era; figures with large eyes, small mouths and long noses, painted in a flat style with lit-tle background scenery. In Russian, icons are not referred to as painted, but rather as “written,” as in a holy book. They may also be made of met-al, carved or embroidered. Tradition-ally, icons were painted in encaustic, a combination of pigment and wax, but more recently, egg tempera has been the favourite medium. Both encaus-tic and egg tempera are seen as holy materials, as they incorporate the vital elements of the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms.

Many Orthodox homes have a corner in which icons are placed, referred

to as the “Red” or “Beautiful” corner (the word used in Russian encom-passes both meanings). Sometimes photographs of family and friends are placed with the icons, and all may be passed down from one generation to the next. It is customary at a wed-ding for a bride to receive an icon of the Virgin Mary and for the groom to receive a cross. During the 19th cen-tury and after, it became typical to integrate metal icons into a wooden image. The metal icons often belonged to deceased family members, and by incorporating these objects into a new work, the individual was commemo-rated. Many of these composite icons exist in the Brown collection. The lay-ers of imagery in these works provide a fascinating glimpse into the complex history of Russian religious art.

The Brown icons are located in the Maltwood’s Study Gallery. The Study Gallery is open to the public on Thurs-days from 2:30 to 4:00. Please call 250-

721-6562 to arrange a tour.

I would like to thank Janice Currier for the valuable information she pro-vided.

You can see another example of a Brown

Icon in our “Recent Acquisitions” section on

the following pages.

In Greek, the word “icon” sim-ply means “image.” However, the importance of religious “portraits” in early Christian art quickly caused the word to take on a new, more profound meaning.

12 13

Boot TeapotKinichi Shigeno

ceramic, 2004

Donated by Dr. Judith Pratt

A View of the Habitations in Nootka Sound

John Webberengraving

Donated by Mrs.Alexandra Cowie

VaseRobert Wrighten

ceramic

Tikhvin Mother of Godartist unknownegg tempera and metal on wood, 17th or 18th century

Icon donated by Dr. Bruce & Mrs. Dorothy Brown

The Maltwood Art Museum & Gallery at the Uni-versity of Victoria is proud to announce weekly public viewings of the Maltwood Collection study gallery. Open to faculty, students and the public, tours will include viewings of a wide range of fur-niture, artifacts, crafts, paintings, instruments, and prints from the Maltwood Collection.

RECENT ACQUISITIONSSOME OF THE NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR COLLECTION

by Caroline Riedel, Curator of Collections

VaseMarguerite Wildenhainceramic

VaseMary Osborneceramic

Donated by the Estate of Leonard & Mary Osborne

Tours of the study gallery will allow viewers to see the complete Maltwood

collection. Through personal, guided tours, viewers will have access to a wide

range of furniture, paintings, and arts and crafts, including work by Katharine

Maltwood herself. Members of the public, faculty, and students are encouraged

to attend between 2:30 and 4:00 Thursday afternoons beginning January 2005.

For further information regarding tours of the Maltwood Collection, please con-

tact the Maltwood publicist at 250-721-6562, maltpub@maltwood.uvic.ca, or visit

www.maltwood.uvic.ca

Chawan Tea CupLynne Johnsonceramic, 2003

Donated by Dr. Judith Pratt