A long-time supporter of the AGGV, Dr. McConnell was exposed to the arts from a young age by her mother, who was an artist herself. Dr. McConnell recalls her mother painting at home and instilling in her a love for the creative process. In her adult life, Dr. McConnell chose to build a collection of works of art that she loved and wanted to live with. The painting generously given to the AGGV, Buoys by Alexander Calder, was among those works.
Buoys was first imported to Canada by G. Blair Laing, one of Toronto’s most prominent art dealers of the 1950s and 60s. Laing first visited Calder in June of 1962 at the artist’s home in the Loire Valley in France. During this visit Laing saw several gouache paintings, executed on heavy hand-made paper, including Buoys. Laing described Calder’s gouaches as “reminiscent of the work of Joan Miro” and “as colourful as the flowers in [the artist’s] garden.” Laing’s relationship with Calder developed out of an exhibition he organized at his Toronto gallery in November 1959 entitled, Sculpture – Ten Modern Masters, that included works by Jacob Epstein, Henry Moore, and Barbara Hepworth. It was through this exhibition that Laing befriended Barbara Hepworth, and she later wrote a letter of introduction for Laing to Calder. Initially Laing sought out Calder in the hope of purchasing some of his mobiles, having encountered some at the Musée d’art Moderne in Paris, and raved about them to Hepworth. When Laing arrived at Calder’s house, the artist did not have any mobiles ready to sell. However, the artist hit it off with Laing, invited him into his wine cellar for drinks and then, after having built a little trust, brought the dealer into his painting studio, which was filled with colourful gouache paintings, from which a few were selected, purchased, and brought to Canada, including Buoys.
Acquiring a work like Buoys helps the AGGV to present the history of modern art to our visitors, and provides crucial international context for work made here in British Columbia.
– Written by Steven McNeil, Chief Curator & Director of Collections and Exhibitions
Feature Image: Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976), Buoys, 1965, gouache on paper, Gift of Dr. Aileen P. McConnell, Victoria, BC. AGGV2024.006.001.
