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| Dave Smith, left, and Bob Deans on the right |
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| Bob Deans, left, Van Newell, bottom right and Dave Smith, top right |
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| Good Luck To Our Friend Bob Deans from Andrew, Muffin and Robert |
ONE OF OUR MUSIC PALS, IS AWAITING A LIFE-SAVING OPERATION
You may not believe this. Very few would, so you're not alone. I can understand your skepticism. Even experienced musicians might scoff at the idea, of history coming to life, every time they play or record songs in our building. "Night at the Museum" is a movie, right? Do I mean to suggest, our historical bits and bobbs are re-animated, because of someone lightly strumming a guitar, or picking a banjo in the studio? It's not about ghosts, or anything paranormal; that somewhat strange, yet not disturbing sounds, can be heard in our studio, apparently resonating from the unknowns of antiquity. How so, you ask?
In our combined antique shop, vintage music emporium, we are crowded with wood and metal articles, artifacts, heirloom pieces, dating back centuries; hundreds of old guitars, violins, mandolins, banjos, drums and cymbals, that were crafted all over the world. We have antique cupboards, dressers, tables, sideboards, and cabinets from this century, and back as far as the 1700's, side by side a plethora of antique china, glass and pottery; stacked on shelves, and exhibited on table-tops, as if a dinner was about to be served at any moment.
The mystery here, is that all the curious relics, known to a shop like ours, play a subtle role in the sound that emanates in, around, and from our building, on the main street of Gravenhurst. There is, you see, an echo of history that you pick up on, if you hang around here long enough. A group that is jamming or recording here, triggers waves of vibrations, that bring these suspended, hung, and leaning instruments back to life. Every recording done here, contains this kind of history, that little bit extra, most would credit to the sound technician's magic; but in essence, is contributed to, by the resonating sounds through all the art, artifacts and instruments through the entire building. If you were to sit in the very back of the long, long store, where I often retreat to write, when Robert is conducting lessons, in studio one, you would know exactly what I mean. The sound of music is influenced by almost everything in the combined antique shops, as much as the building itself, which afterall, was the former "Muskoka Theatre." As for acoustics, it's a pretty interesting place to play and record, but it's really neat to just listen. All sound is enhanced here, by the characteristics of old wood, glass and metal, and there is nothing paranormal about it. Each instrument, its age, the wood used, the style in which it was built, and size, influence what the bounce-back of sound will be, dependent of course, on what is being played in the vicinity.
It is a sort of parallel for me, to wax a little poetic about this; because the inmates of our place of music, as well, create a characteristic buzz, a gentle human echo, and familiar, cheerful resonance that is easily detectable, for those who visit often. We've had many occasions, when musician friends, like Van Newell, will pop through the front door, and immediately sense the good vibes from say, Bob Deans and "The Rhythm Pals," if they happen to be in the neighborhood. Even in the very back room, half a football field away, the sound hits the front door, like a drumstick on a snare. The next thing you know? Well, happily, we've got ourselves a store-wide jam going on; customers tapping their feet and humming along to folks songs and country favorites, all, mind you, buzzing and echoing through the relics and artifacts of our social, cultural heritage. If we've got ghosts here, by golly, they're having the time of their after-lives.
One of our favorite guest musicians, has never played to a crowd of thirty thousand screaming fans. Never had even a single fan toss a pair of underwear, onto the stage during his band's performance. To the best of our knowledge, Bob Deans has never wanted to join the band AC / DC, as a guitarist, golf with Alice Cooper (although that might be neat), or jump off stage, after a stirring solo, into the mosh pit, to be passed on shoulders, amongst his screaming fans. Truth is, and at no shortfall to his own passion for music, Bob, a member of the new-age, old-sound "Rhythm Pals," prefers an intimate audience, where he knows each and every patron, and can, without reservation, crack-off witty one liners, to rouse some smiles and tell-tale giggles from that old gang of his; achieving the kind of comfort-zone most desired, by any audience, relaxed yet keen, for one of their rare concert gigs.
Bob Deans loves music. He loves to make music. Write it, record it, and play it live for friends, family and significant others. He's the kind of veteran music-type, who we could call up, on short notice, like a back-up goaltender for the Leafs, and ask a favor, such as, "Say Bob, would you please run our shop today, or for the next week?" Bob, if asked, at this moment, would unfortunately have to decline the offer, due to temporary health issues. If we were to ask him, a little down the road, after a medical procedure, to "take over the shop for a couple of days," (or a month) well sir, we'd just have to make sure there was an adequate supply of Suzanne's home made cookies, enough for him and his band-mate, and brother-in-law, Dave Smith, who already has our blessing to work at the shop any time he wants. The issue right now, is getting Bob on the mend. He's currently in a Toronto hospital, awaiting a lung transplant, and chomping at the bit to get back to his pivotal role with the Rhythm Pals, and their upcoming gigs here in Gravenhurst. So in the meantime, Bob has been working hard with hospital staff, to keep up his health, treadmilling, and exercising physically, as much as possible, and by the way, writing new songs as a sort of musical therapy; which by golly, has worked for some of the greatest composers to ever apply inked notes to lined-paper.
Our family wanted to send this little message to Bob, and all the members of the Deans' family, who have been at the elder musician's side for these many months, always upbeat about the potential for a call from the hospital, that donor lungs have been secured. I don't know Bob Deans as well as my sons, Robert and Andrew, simply because I'm not very musical, and don't jam with him when Bob, Dave and Brian Davidson, (another member of the Rhythm Pals), drop by the studio for a visit. What I do know about the wise-cracking, perpetually optimistic, laughing musician, is that he is the kind of bloke you want to saddle up to, when you're feeling a little down yourself. He is a realist, and has known the odds of his survival from the beginning; but despite, at times, facing considerable odds, of making the transplant eligibility list, he hasn't in any way, succumbed to self pity, or the regret that life has been too short. Instead, he is more interested in what everyone else is doing, and how they're faring with their own life challenges, such as illness; evidenced by the way he has connected with other patients, facing similarly daunting procedures, and long hauls, as far as their recovery. He is the master of his domain, and he doesn't want anyone close to him, to feel sorry for his medical circumstance. He likes to know that everyone close to him, is feeling upbeat, and are as cheerful as can be expected, when in his company. As everyone who knows Bob states without reservation, he is the spark of the party, any party; heck, he is the party.
Bob Deans and the Rhythm Pals, are social / cultural partners of Currie's Music, and remind us, when we occasionally get high and mighty, that we did not create our business to cater only to the big names of music, locally, regionally, or internationally. It was a business crafted to be a hometown entity, that put the neighborhood first. This may seem like a wonky strategy if it was presented to the "Shark Tank," seeking an investor for a cash infusion. To the hundreds of hometown, and area musicians, who are at best semi-pro, but mostly recreational players, we have become a sort of mainstreet clubhouse; where jams break out frequently, and where music-talk is almost constant, in between political opinions, and word on the street revelations. When we had The Rhythm Pals play our back stage, for family and friends, this past September, to launch their new CD, it would be debatable who had more fun; the performers, the audience or the hosts. It symbolized what we have always thought important about music, and its promotion in the community. Simply stated, to have musical events that won't, as an end-all, set the stage on fire, the result of soul rattling axe-grinding, but nothing else. Rather, we want to be engaged, whatever the brand of music, in that sweet ease of culture, in the most social sense, that stirs us with fellowship, while at the same time, entertaining us with the good graces of music; the greatest healing force without a prescription.
We have a lot of internationally acclaimed musicians coming through our studio, throughout the year, and we haven't encountered one yet, not one, who wouldn't want to sit down and jam for a tad, with the kindly old musicians, led by Bob Deans, and known to us, so fondly, as "The Rhythm Pals."
We have the upright bass ready to go, for the next time Bob and the gang are up to visit. We have it tuned up, to Bob's liking, and we're optimistic his day is coming soon, to receive new lungs, and a new lease on life. In advance, we want Bob to know, we're going to be calling on him, to spell us here at the shop, maybe in the summer season, when the boys have to attend concert gigs with their new country band. We need him and Dave Smith, to take over, and run this shop as if it was their own; that's how much we trust these music lads. We've sent along the photograph above, of the stage area, of our backroom studio, where the Rhythm Pals have played previously, as a little warm-up of good things to come. In between Andrew and Robert, is our new studio mascot, "Raga - Muffin," who is now the official shop greeter, and according to early reviews, doing a pretty fair job of it.
From all of your friends, up here in God's Country, Bob, we're wishing you all the best; and planning for the future, and that includes you wearing a "Currie's Music" T-shirt, with your name tag sewn on. In the meantime, we want you to continue writing songs about the good life yet to come. We've got a lot of open dates to showcase a return of "The Rhythm Pals," and friends. We're thinking "Palapalooza" should become an annual event. Make a note of this Bob! We've got a lot of music history yet to make!
I will be sure to let readers know how Bob is doing in the future.
From the Archives
A SENSITIVITY TO ART AND HISTORY - BUT YOU HAVE TO ASK US FIRST
ANTIQUE AND ART DEALERS HAVE TO BE PASSIONATE TO STAY IN BUSINESS
MOST OF OUR ANTIQUE AND ART TRANSACTIONS ARE PRETTY BASIC. CUSTOMERS FIND SOMETHING THEY LIKE, APPROACH THE COUNTER, POTENTIALLY ASK A FEW CURSORY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PIECE OR PIECES, ASK WHETHER WE MIGHT OFFER A DISCOUNT, AND THEN DEPENDING ON THE OUTCOME, AGREE TO PURCHASE, OR SET THE ITEM BACK WHERE THEY FOUND IT IN THE SHOP. IF THE ITEM IS DESIRED, AND THUSLY PAID FOR, THE PURCHASES ARE CAREFULLY WRAPPED, PACKAGED, AND HANDED FROM OUR SIDE OF THE COUNTER, TO THE EAGER INDIVIDUAL(S) ON THE OTHER SIDE. THERE ARE PLEASANTRIES, AND PROMISES TO COME BACK AGAIN, BUT GENERALLY, IT'S A SHORT INTERACTION WITHOUT A LOT OF CONVERSATION. TODAY WITH THE PREVALENCE OF PHONES IN PURSES AND POCKETS, IT'S LUCKY IF YOU CAN GET IN A FEW COMMENTS, WITHOUT BEING INTERRUPTED. AS WELL, I'M NOTICING HOW MANY FOLKS, EVEN UP IN MUSKOKA, ON VACATION, ARE IN A HURRY BUT THEY REALLY DON'T KNOW WHY. IT'S AS IF TRULY, THEY COULDN'T STAND THERE AND TALK LIBERALLY, FOR ANY MORE THAN THIRTY SECONDS, WITHOUT FEELING THEY HAD TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT VENUE. WE IN MUSKOKA LIKE TO DAWDLE JUST A LITTLE LONGER THAN THE STANDARD THIRTY SECOND HIATUS….ESPECIALLY IN THE GENTLE NON-THREATENING ENVIRONS OF AN ANTIQUE SHOP. DAWDLING AND CONVERSATION IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR RESPECTIVE BUSINESS MODELS. WE WANT TO KNOW OUR CUSTOMERS AND WE THINK THEY SHOULD GET TO KNOW US. YOU JUST CAN'T JAM THAT UNCEREMONIOUSLY INTO LESS THAN A MINUTE'S WORTH OF CASUAL STORY EXCHANGING. HONESTLY, YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE HOW RUSHED WE FEEL, JUST WATCHING HOW RUSHED THEY ACT. IF THEY ONLY TOOK A FEW MINUTES TO CATCH THEIR BREATH, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO ENGAGE THEM IN SOME INTERESTING CONVERSATION. WE KNOW A LOT OF STUFF AND WE DON'T MIND SHARING.
WHAT A MAJORITY OF CUSTOMERS DON'T REALIZE, BECAUSE MOST ARE IN SUCH A HURRY TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SHOP VENUE, IS THAT ANTIQUE AND ART DEALERS ARE ITCHING TO CONVERSE; DESIROUS OF SHARING SOME STORIES ABOUT THEIR PROFESSION, AND WOULD LOVE TO BE ASKED QUESTIONS RELATED TO THEIR FIELD. WHAT ISN'T RECOGNIZED, IS HOW MUCH THESE FOLKS BELIEVE IN WHAT THEY PERFORM OUT THERE…..HUNTING AND GATHERING THESE COLLECTIBLE AND ARTISTIC PIECES; RECORDING SOME PRETTY AMAZING FEATS OF DARING RECOVERY….., SECURING THESE HEIRLOOM ITEMS, THAT POSSIBLY, IF YOU TOOK THE TIME, WOULD FIND INTERESTING OR EVEN AMAZING. I SUPPOSE WE GIVE THE IMPRESSION, THAT OURS IS A SECRET OPERATION, FULL OF COVERT, STEALTH-LIKE MOVEMENTS AND MANIPULATIONS, OOZING OF MYSTERY AND INTRIGUE, UNIMAGINABLE TO THE GENERAL ANTIQUE OR ART BUYER. WHILE I WILL NEVER DENY, THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS FOR BEING CAREFUL WITH SOURCE INFORMATION, DUE TO INCREASINGLY TOUGH COMPETITION FOR THE BEST PIECES, WE AREN'T ADVERSE TO DISCUSSING THE RIGORS OF OUR PROFESSION, AND OFFERING ADVICE FOR UP AND COMING DEALERS LOOKING FOR GROUND-FLOOR ADVICE.
WE CAN'T ALL BE AS GENEROUS AS CANADIAN ART PATRON, DOUGLAS DUNCAN, AS I'VE BEEN PROFILING OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. HE WAS GENEROUS TO A FAULT, AND WAS ENORMOUSLY PATIENT AND FLEXIBLE WITH ARTISTS AND CLIENTS, AND OPEN AND KIND TO ANYONE SEEKING ADVICE BASED ON HIS YEARS SPENT IN COMPANY OF OLD BOOKS, BOOK COLLECTORS, ART, ARTISTS, AND THOSE PATRONS WHO SOUGHT OUT THE NEWEST TALENTS IN NATIONAL ART. BUT WITHIN OUR PROFESSION, I HAVE KNOWN MANY DEALERS AND COLLECTORS WHO HAVE BEEN SIMILARLY GENEROUS, AND HAVE ALWAYS SHARED THEIR STORIES AS EDUCATION, WORTS AND ALL. THEY ARE HISTORIANS BY IMMERSION, IN A PROFESSION THAT DEMANDS OF ITS MEMBERS, AN INTIMATE, UNFLINCHING APPRECIATION OF THE PAST; BECAUSE IT'S AN IMBEDDED REQUIREMENT OF THEIR BUSINESS SUCCESS. JUST BECAUSE THEY DON'T WRITE REGIONAL, PROVINCIAL OR NATIONAL HISTORIES (INCLUDING BIOGRAPHIES), DOESN'T MEAN THEY AREN'T EXPERTS IN THEIR PARTICULAR FIELD OF CHOICE…….AND KNOW THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ARTISTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES ETC., THEY HAVE IN THEIR PRIVATE COLLECTIONS, AND FOR SALE IN THEIR SHOPS. THESE OFTEN UNASSUMING HISTORIANS, ARE ROUTINELY OVERLOOKED AS PART OF THE HERITAGE COMMITTEES, BECAUSE THEY OFFER ITEMS FOR SALE…..THE PURIST HISTORIANS SEEING THIS AS A TRAVESTY TO STEWARDSHIP……PREFERRING THAT EVERYTHING THAT'S OF ANY MERIT WHATSOEVER, IN THE ANTIQUE OR ART DOMAIN, SHOULD BE DONATED TO AN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MUSEUM, OR PUBLIC GALLERY.
IT IS WORTH NOTING, THAT ANTIQUE AND ART DEALERS, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SALVAGING A HUGE PERCENTAGE OF HERITAGE ITEMS EVERY YEAR, THAT MIGHT HAVE OTHERWISE WOUND UP BEING DISCARDED OR DESTROYED, BECAUSE NO VALUE WAS ATTACHED BY THE OWNER. THESE HIGHLY TRAINED AND REMARKABLY RESPONSIVE INDIVIDUALS, ARE WILLING TO PUT IN THE RESEARCH TIME, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, TO BONE-UP ON WHAT THEY DON'T KNOW……THAT THEY FEEL THEY SHOULD, IN ORDER TO GRASP IMPORTANT HEIRLOOM PIECES FROM THE JAWS OF GARBAGE BINS AND LANDFILL SITES. I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS MANY TIMES SINCE THE MID 1970'S, WHEN MY APPETITE FOR THE PROFESSION TOOK OFF…..WITH ME DRAGGING BEHIND. THERE'S NOTHING SWEETER, THAN RESCUING IMPORTANT HISTORICAL MATERIALS, THAT AN ESTATE, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS GETTING READY TO DUMP INTO THE GARBAGE BOX SITUATED IN THE DRIVEWAY. I CAN'T COUNT THE NUMBER OF TIMES, FOLKS HAVE COME IN TO SEE ME, WITH A HUGELY SIGNIFICANT ART PIECE OR COLLECTION OF DOCUMENTS, WONDERING IF THEY WERE WORTH A FEW BUCKS……ONLY TO FIND OUT THEY WERE WORTH SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS. TO THEIR CREDIT, A LOT OF DEALERS I KNOW PERSONALLY, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IDENTIFYING THESE VALUABLE PIECES, AND ATTACHING PROVENANCE BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE; AND ENABLING OWNERS TO ACHIEVE A GREATER FINANCIAL RETURN, SHOULD THEY STILL WISH TO SELL THE SUBJECT ITEMS. THERE IS A PERCEPTION, AND THERE IS SOME TRUTH TO IT, THAT DEALERS PREY ON IGNORANCE, AND WILL LOW-BALL FOR THESE PIECES, JUST TO GET A BIGGER PROFIT ON THE OTHER END. I'VE MET A FEW OF THESE FOLKS, BUT CERTAINLY THEY ARE IN THE MINORITY.
WE'RE GENERALLY PROUD TO BE IMBEDDED IN THIS HISTORIC PROFESSION, AND WE'D BE DELIGHTED TO SHARE SOME OF OUR AMAZING ADVENTURES, AND ADVICE ABOUT THE INDUSTRY. LIKE DOUGLAS DUNCAN, WE REPRESENT THE ITEMS WE HAVE COLLECTED, WITH THE UTMOST RESPECT……AND WHILE IT'S TRUE WE NEED TO PROFIT FROM OUR DEDICATION OF TIME, AND EXPENSE, WITHOUT THE PASSION FOR BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORIC PIECES, WHATEVER THEY MAY BE……WE WOULD PROBABLY CHOOSE ANOTHER OCCUPATION. IT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE TO SEPARATE PASSION FROM THE ANTIQUE AND ART ENTERPRISE……AND NO, IT'S NEVER "JUST ABOUT THE MONEY." WE WON'T TELL YOU THIS, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT YOU LAUGHING AT US……BUT MOST ANTIQUE DEALERS DO THINK OF THEMSELVES AS CURATORS OF THEIR COLLECTIONS. THEY'RE UNSUNG AS STEWARDS AND CONSERVATORS, OF THESE IMPORTANT HEIRLOOM OBJECTS. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, TAKE A FEW MOMENTS OF TIME, AND ASK YOUR FRIENDLY ANTIQUE OR ART DEALER, ABOUT THEIR OWN LOVE FOR THE BUSINESS. I THINK THE DOOR YOU OPEN, WILL OFFER A BETTER EXPLANATION, IN PERSON, THAN I CAN PROVIDE, VIA THIS BLOG.
NOW, LET US RESUME OUR LOOK AT THE AMAZING CAREER OF CANADIAN ART LEGEND, DOUGLAS DUNCAN, VERY MUCH AN UNSUNG HERO OF ART IN THIS COUNTRY……AND FRIEND TO SO MANY ARTISTS WHO OWE PART OF THEIR SUCCESS, TO THIS GENTLE AND CARING MAN.
DOUGLAS DUNCAN, FOR THE LOVE OF ART AND ARTISTS
IN EARLY JANUARY, 1964, BARBARA MOON, WROTE AN INSIGHTFUL EDITORIAL PIECE, (PUBLISHED BY MACLEAN'S MAGAZINE), WHICH SHE REFERRED TO AS A "PORTRAIT," OF ART PATRON DOUGLAS DUNCAN. "SO FAR AS I KNOW, IT WAS THE ONLY FULL LENGTH PROFILE OF HIM IN A GENERAL PUBLICATION. WHEN I BEGAN WORK ON IT I HAD MET AND INTERVIEWED DUNCAN ON ONE EARLIER OCCASION, IN CONNECTION WITH AN ARTICLE ON DAVID MILNE. AND OF COURSE, I HAD SOME KNOWLEDGE OF DUNCAN'S UNIQUE ROLE IN THE ART WORLD, SINCE IT WAS THIS THAT PROMPTED THE ASSIGNMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE." THIS APPEARED AS AN INTRODUCTION, TO HER RE-PUBLISHED ARTICLE, FROM 1964, INCLUDED IN THE MEMORIAL BOOK, ENTITLED "DOUGLAS DUNCAN - A MEMORIAL PORTRAIT," EDITED BY ALAN JARVIS, AND PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS IN 1974.
"DOUGLAS MOERDYKE DUNCAN, A SIXTY-ONE YEAR OLD TORONTO BACHELOR, IS A VERY TALL, NARROW MAN WITH A SHREWD WHIMSICAL FACE AND A SWIFT, SELF CONSCIOUS WALK THAT SUGGESTS SOMEONE PRACTISED IN AVOIDING PROJECTIONS SUCH AS TABLE CORNERS AND PACKING CRATES. HE IS THE PROPRIETOR OF THE PICTURE LOAN SOCIETY, WHICH OFFERS ORIGINAL ART FOR RENTAL BY THE MONTH (AT TWO PERCENT OF THE ASSIGNED VALUE, MINIMUM RENTAL ONE DOLLAR PER MONTH), AND ALSO SPONSORS ABOUT TEN SMALL ONE-MAN EXHIBITIONS AND SALES OF PAINTINGS A YEAR," WRITES BARBARA MOON. "THE ENTERPRISE IS SO MODEST AS TO BE NEARLY CLANDESTINE. IT IS OPEN ONLY NINE MONTHS OF THE YEAR, AND THEN ONLY IN THE AFTERNOONS AND ONE WEEKDAY EVENING. AN EXIGUOUS WEEKLY NEWSPAPER NOTICE IS ITS ONLY PUBLIC ADVERTISEMENT, DIRECT MAIL NOTICES ALSO GO TO A CONSTITUENCY OF ABOUT FIVE HUNDRED BUT DUNCAN WANTS TO PRUNE THE LIST. 'IT'S TOO MUCH NUISANCE AND COSTS TEN CENTS A NOTICE JUST TO PAMPER THEIR EGOS BY GETTING LOTS OF MAIL,' HE SAYS TARTLY.
SHE WRITES THAT, "IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT THE PICTURE LOAN HAS NEVER BEEN A MONEY-MAKING OPERATION SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1936. IN THESE DAYS OF THE EIGHT MILLION DOLLAR CANADIAN ART BOOM, OF CARPETED GALLERIES WITH GLAMOUR LIGHTING AND SMART ADDRESSES AND OF MUCH ART MARKET TALK BY KNOWING PEOPLE, DUNCAN MIGHT WELL SEEM AN UNWORLDLY OLD PARTY AND HIS SHOP A QUAINT BACKWATER. BUT TO THOSE IN THE KNOW - TO EVERYBODY WHO IS ANYBODY IN CANADIAN ART - DOUGLAS DUNCAN IS A CULTURAL FORCE, MAYBE EVEN A MAJOR INFLUENCE. FOR, LIKE SIR ROBERT WATSON WATT, IN WARTIME BRITAIN, DUNCAN IS ONE OF THOSE ETERNALLY FASCINATING UNOFFICIAL FIGURES, A BACKROOM BOY. 'DUNCAN HAS BEEN TREMENDOUSLY IMPORTANT,' SAYS CHARLES COMFORT, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY IN OTTAWA. 'VITAL' AGREES HAROLD TOWN, ONE OF CANADA'S TOP LIVING ARTISTS. JOHNNY WAYNE, OF WAYNE AND SHUSTER, IS EVEN MORE SENTENTIOUS. 'WHEN THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF CANADIAN ART IS WRITTEN,' WAYNE SAID RECENTLY, 'DOUGLAS DUNCAN WILL GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE REALLY GREAT MEN IN IT.' WAYNE WAS SPEAKING NOT AS A COMIC BUT AS SOMEONE WHO WANDERED INTO THE PICTURE LOAN FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, AND LEARNED FROM DUNCAN THAT THERE WERE GOOD CANADIAN ARTISTS WHO COULDN'T GET A SHOWING, COULDN'T GET A SALE, AND SOMETIMES DIDN'T HAVE THE PRICE OF A MEAL. WAYNE VOWED ON THE SPOT THAT HE'D HANG NOTHING ON HIS WALLS BUT CANADIAN ART AND HAS SINCE BUILT A VERY RESPECTABLE COLLECTION. (CIRCA 1964).
Barbara Moon adds to this, that "the Picture Loan was started explicitly as a showcase for living Canadian artists and for almost twenty years was the only commercial gallery in Canada to specialize. 'He to me, is the pioneer,' says Dorothy Cameron. Miss Cameron has her own - chic, successful - contemporary gallery in Toronto, and there are nearly two dozen more flourishing across the country. 'Without Douglas none of us would exist,' says Miss Cameron. Or take Harold Town, who is the top-priced abstract artist in Canada and has a growing international reputation. Town says, 'Any real interest in my work begins precisely with the moment I first met Douglas Duncan.' Town was a commercial artist nine years out of art college, had sold only three serious paintings, had never been given space in a commercial gallery when he bumped into Duncan in the doorway of a framing shop in 1953. Duncan looked at the print of a horse that Town was carrying and promptly arranged a Town exhibition at the Picture Loan two months thence."
"In fact, Duncan has launched so many now-well-known Canadian artists into the crucial Toronto art market that even a partial list sounds like willful name-dropping. As well as Town, it includes Carl Schaefer, Will Ogilvie, Lemoine Fitzgerald, Andrew Bieler, Henri Masson, Kazuo Nakamura, Robert Hedrick, and Paul-Emile Borduas. In addition he was in very early indeed with Emily Carr. He is not just a good handicapper; he is very much an active better. And he unfailingly gives his help when it's going to count the most. For example, of the six prints sold from the first Town show, four were bought by Duncan for his personal collection."
His best known connection, and most influential, was with reclusive artist David Milne, writes Barbara Moon. "The case in point is David Milne, the hermit-genius of Canadian art. 'Duncan would be important in Canadian art for the Milne thing alone,' says one knowledgeable observer. Duncan spotted Milne's work at a Toronto gallery in 1934, sought him out in the Muskoka wilderness in 1935, and in 1938 became his agent. For the next fifteen years he gave Milne an annual one-man show at the Picture Loan and for the last thirteen years of Milne's life, guaranteed Milne's income by making purchases for his personal collection to augment regular sales. In addition he became so devout an evangelist for the artist, that a volatile Slavic painter in the Picture Loan group, Paraskeva Clark, burst out discontentedly, 'Agh, Duncan. With heem it's all Meelne, Meelne, Meelne, Meelne, Meelne!'
Duncan ran errands for Milne, brought comforts to his cabin in the bush, respected his fierce need for privacy by acting as a mail-drop, fronted for him in so intimate a matter as divorce and astonishingly (because Milne was even more impatient of bookkeeping than he) performed as a business agent and an artistic auditor. As a result he has photographic records of every extant Milne he has seen, and intends to present this unique catalogue of artistic development to the National Gallery, along with his own hand-picked collections of 160 Milne drypoints."
Friend Rik Kettle added, "It was probably natural that I saw the picture-rental idea as something which could and should eventually develop on a larger scale with substantial public involvement. The obvious parallel was books and public libraries; there are hundreds of books one can and wants to read with pleasure and benefit; there probably are not an awful lot one can or wants to buy and own permanently. There are, likewise, not an awful lot of paintings one can or wants to buy, but quite a lot that have a useful, if relatively short existence. Why not something approaching the public library idea? In the early post-war years, I occasionally regretted that Douglas did not really push the rental side very much and that the number of people who participated remained relatively small. On the other hand, it was quite evident, thereafter, that the total 'happening' that went on at 3 Charles Street West, which was really Douglas himself, was so good and right that it couldn't have been anything else."
Kettle writes that, "It has always interested me that the picture-rental activities that have subsequently developed here have not really had much effect on the general public. They perform effectively and usefully but have remained, as far as I know, fairly small, sophisticated, and institutionalized. I suppose, though, that the whole situation is now totally different, because of public exposure to the arts through the massive visual communication opportunities, etc. Douglas took the picture-rental idea and built around it 'his own thing.' Today, in our frustrations over the increasing disorder, discomfort, and dissent in our affluent society, we talk about our concern for the quality of life! Douglas, sitting on the floor on his haunches and twitching his eyebrows, would probably have thought this pretentious; but he instinctively busied himself only in things where 'quality of life,' was concerned, and would have found it impossible to have done anything else."
Artist Will Ogilvie wrote, "He (Douglas) understood and spoke a painter's language and they knew he was knowledgeable about art, both in the technical sense and in the aesthetic. In going to him, they brought with them their own gift; trust in his judgement. Time, of course, is the final arbiter but I feel sure that the names of a goodly number of young artists, Douglas Duncan encouraged will be found eventually, among those who have made a significant contribution to the art of Canada."
He adds, "I think it could be said of Douglas, that he knew art was to be found in many and varied forms if one had the eyes to see, but he distrusted labels and was too concerned with the inner truth existing in all works of art to be trapped by the fashionable or the meretricious. He had great respect for and a deep understanding of the nature of art and he sought it out diligently. In concluding these observations, I find myself coming back to what perhaps was of principal concern to Douglas. I think this was a desire to share with others his love of art; to be moved by its excitement and mystery and to expand, as much as possible, the enjoyment and enrichment art gives to a way of life."
Comedian Johnny Wayne concluded, of his friend, "I can see him now, squatting elegantly on the floor, aboriginal style, in the famous Duncan crouch, studying a Milne water-color or a Varley drawing and discussing its fine points. For me, and my wife Bea, for who he had a special affection, there were countless hours of laughter and conversation about pictures and the people who painted them. Looking back now, I realize that besides having a hell of a good time then, I was going through what high-priced psychologists call a 'learning experience.' Douglas was not only a dear friend but a teacher, who in a subtle way taught me the art of enjoying art. Every picture I look at glows with his memory."
Thanks for joining me today to examine a portion of this rich Canadian art biography, which I have long held as a source of inspiration……as I also love and collect Canadian art. I own a well presented and thoroughly researched, signed copy, of a biography of David Milne written by art historian David Silcox, that I consult frequently…..all the while, thinking of how Douglas Duncan helped the artist get the exposure he needed, to be properly recognized in the art community. Please join me tomorrow, for a brief look at one of my other favorite source books, kept here at Birch Hollow, entitled "Adventures of a Paper Sleuth," the biography compiled by my old archivist friend, Hugh MacMillan. He has been a pivotal mentor in my own hunt and gather activities in the antique profession for many years now. Please join me for some more interesting stories about those stalwart, adventure-seeking folks who find so much fulfillment hunting and gathering. See you again soon.
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