The Notman Studio: 1858–1915
September 13–December 10, 2017
University Gallery, The Image Centre (formerly Ryerson Image Centre)
Guest Curator: Emily McKibbon
This exhibition surveys the diverse production of celebrated photographer William Notman’s bustling enterprise, from studio portraiture, to topographical landscapes, to genre scenes of prototypically “Canadian” pastimes. Emigrating from Scotland, Notman opened his first photography studio in Montreal in 1856 and found quick success. Expanding his business to various satellite locations, Notman employed and trained generations of photographers, studio assistants and retouchers. Together they presented a vision of Canada as energetic, young, sublimely beautiful, and deeply wintry, capturing the public’s imagination in the years preceding and following Confederation.
Event(s):
Opening Party
Wednesday, September 13
6:00 – 8:00 PM
Special Tour
With Guest Curator Emily McKibbon
Wednesday, November 1
6:00 PM
Exhibiton Tours
Daily 2:30 PM
All events take place at The Image Centre (formerly Ryerson Image Centre), unless otherwise noted
William Notman, Helen (Nelly) Dorthea Benson, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1878, albumen print mounted on card. Promised gift of Howard and Carole Tanenbaum, The Image Centre
Cabinet Portraits, Notman Photographer to the Queen [cabinet card envelope], Boston, Massachusetts, USA, ca. 1870, ink on paper. Promised gift of Howard and Carole Tanenbaum, The Image Centre
William Notman & Son, Etheldred Norton Frothingham, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 9, 1888, albumen print mounted on card. Promised gift of Howard and Carole Tanenbaum, The Image Centre
William Notman, Ice Palace, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, ca. 1883, 2 albumen prints mounted on card. Gift of Dr. Martin J. Bass and Gail Silverman Bass, The Image Centre
William Notman, Instantaneous, Quick as a Flash [Notman trade card], Boston, Massachusetts, USA, ca. 1866, albumen print mounted on card. Promised gift of Howard and Carole Tanenbaum, The Image Centre
Curator Bio
Emily McKibbon
Guest Curator
Emily McKibbon is Associate Curator and Collections Manager at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie, Ontario. From 2011 to 2013, she was the Howard and Carole Tanenbaum Curatorial Fellow at George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. She has previously worked in curatorial, collections and research capacities at the National Museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy, Auckland, the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, and Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in Toronto.
