G. Blair Laing (June20, 1911 June26, 1991) was a prominent Canadian art dealer as well as an astute collector and generous benefactor. Through his 40-year career, he assisted in the growth of the Canadian art market and helped Canadians better understand Canadian art.Gloria Hickey, "The Laing Legacy". Vic Report, Winter 1990-1991, p.4ff

Career

After completing his degree at

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

(1930-1934), Blair Laing entered his father`s business, Mellors Fine Arts Limited in Toronto. The gallery was founded under that name at 759 Yonge Street in 1932, became Mellors-Laing in 1940 and Laing Galleries later. By 1991 when Laing died, it was one of the oldest family-owned private galleries in Canada. In 1941, the business moved to 60 Bloor Street East and in 1950, when Laing headed it, to 194 Bloor West. Among the artists shown by the Galleries were some less than well-known major figures in Canadian art such as

Tom Thomson Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. His w ...

, David Milne, and

Emily Carr Emily Carr (or M. Emily Carr as she sometimes signed her work) (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to ado ...

, and among the many already known, artists such as

James Wilson Morrice James Wilson Morrice (August 10, 1865 – January 23, 1924) was one of the first Canadian landscape painters to be known internationally. He studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, France, where he lived for most of his career. James Morrice S ...

Horatio Walker Horatio Walker LL.D. (May 12, 1858 – September 27, 1938) was a Canadian painter. He worked in oils and watercolours, often depicting scenes of rural life in Canada. He was influenced by the Barbizon school. Life and work Early life ...

, and

Homer Watson Homer Ransford Watson (January 14, 1855 – May 30, 1936) was a Canadian landscape painter. He has been characterized as the painter who first painted Canada as Canada, rather than as a pastiche of European painting. He was a member and pres ...

. Along with these artists, Blair Laing showed the work of French-Canadian artists such as

Paul-Émile Borduas Paul-Émile Borduas (November 1, 1905 – February 22, 1960) was a Québecois artist known for his abstract paintings. He was the leader of the avant-garde Automatiste movement and the chief author of the Refus Global manifesto of 1948. Bord ...

. In addition, from 1957 to 1966, he co-operated with Pieter Eilers of Van Wissenlingh and Co., Amsterdam to bring Canada art of the European Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries. Later, he worked with M. Knoedler and Company and other companies and individuals with a similar aim. "Memoirs of an Art Dealer", his autobiography, was published in 1979 and a second volume in 1982, both readable and persuasive volumes illustrated with tip-in plates of works of which only a few are known even today. In these books, he writes at length about his career as an art dealer. In 1989, he gave the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

84 works by Morrice, a collection amassed over 40 years,Beverley Smith, Obituary Blair Laing, “Art dealer who repatriated Canadian paintings”, Globe and Mail, July 2, 1991, p. A10. published by Charles C. Hill as "Gift to the Nation: The G. Blair Laing Collection of Paintings by James Wilson Morrice" (University of Chicago Press, 1992). Hill's show that accompanied the collection at the National Gallery of Canada was called powerful. He also gave his portrait which was painted by

Curtis Williamson Curtis Williamson (January2, 1867 April18, 1944) known for his portraits and figure painting; also genre and landscape. He was nicknamed "the Canadian Rembrandt" because of his dark, tonal style. Williamson showed his work at the Canadian Art Cl ...

(1936-1937). Among Laing's clients he counted many of the businessmen of the day such as

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

. In 1990, he was awarded the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laing, G. Blair 1911 births 1991 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Canadian art dealers Members of the Order of Canada Canadian philanthropists People from Montreal University of Toronto alumni