Gordon Conn (ca.1888-1977) was an art collector and supporter of visual art in Toronto. He studied to be a musician and worked as a painter in his youth. Although he did not pursue a career as an artist, he maintained connections with many artists. He was a friend of the painter Kenneth Forbes (1892-1980) who painted Conn’s portrait in 1935. Together with Forbes, Gordon Conn founded the Ontario Institute of Painters devoted to the display of painting based on what Forbes called “traditional” art values. Conn turned over his studio in Wychwood Park in Toronto—The Little Gallery—to a series of one-man shows of its members. Near the end of his life, he donated paintings by artists represented in this collection to public art galleries in Ontario.
published
The collection consists chiefly of photographs of the artists Elizabeth McGillivray Knowles (1866-1928), Farquhar McGillivray Knowles (1859-1932), George Agnew Reid (1860-1947), Mary Heister Reid (1854-1921), Mary Wrinch Reid (1877-1969) and Edmund Wyly Grier (1899-1961), their studios and works, along with related textual materials. Fonds consists of the following series: Elizabeth McGillivray Knowles Farquhar McGillivray Knowles George Agnew Reid Mary Heister Reid Mary Wrinch Reid Edmund Wyly Grier
The material now constituting the Gordon Conn collection was donated by Gordon and Rheta Conn during the years 1969-1981.
Open
Various copyright. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission for the reproduction of any part of the fonds.
A detailed inventory is available.