Current Obsession: the Malcolmson Collection of historical photographs gets its first hometown public exhibition
Current Obsession: the Malcolmson Collection of historical photographs gets its first hometown public exhibition
Most of the time, the more than 200 rare photographs owned by husband-and-wife collectors Harry and Ann Malcolmson are kept out of sight. Harry, a securities lawyer and a consultant to the World Bank, and Ann, a former social worker and a founding member of Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts, take no chances with their treasures: though the walls of the couple’s Benvenuto Place apartment are filled with iconic prints from almost every period in photographic history, the images are usually hidden behind black plastic covers to protect them from sunlight.
In their four decades of collecting, the Malcolmsons have hewed to no single aesthetic or artistic school—160-year-old photos by Maxime Du Camp hang alongside avant-garde 20th-century images by Man Ray and a smattering of contemporary work. To see all of these pictures together is to be taken through an idiosyncratic history of the medium, with no room for photos that are dull or merely journalistic. This is the exhibition’s first major showing in Toronto, so we asked the Malcolmsons to give us a private viewing of some of their favourite pieces.
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- <strong>Harry:</strong> “One of the oldest pieces in our collection. Talbot invented the concept of a negative from which many prints could be taken. This work links the collection to the creator of photography, so it’s very important to us.”
- (Reproduction courtesy of the Malcolmsons)
- William Henry Fox Talbot, “A Scene in York” (1845)
- William Henry Fox Talbot, “A Scene in York” (1845)
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- <strong>Harry:</strong> “Du Camp was one of the first photographers to visit Egypt, which he did with the novelist Gustave Flaubert. Look at the clarity of the composition.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Ann:</strong> “It’s almost contemporary, the lack of ornamentation. Extraordinary, considering the image is from around 1850.”
- (Reproduction courtesy of the Malcolmsons)
- Maxime Du Camp, “Égypte: Louqsor, Grande Colonnade du Palais” (c. 1850)
- Maxime Du Camp, “Égypte: Louqsor, Grande Colonnade du Palais” (c. 1850)
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- <strong>Harry:</strong> “We have five Man Rays in our collection, and each one is in a different medium. This one is a photograph at the top and a graphite drawing of the nose and mouth at the bottom.”
- (Reproduction courtesy of the Malcolmsons)
- Man Ray, “Eyes” (c. 1935)
- Man Ray, “Eyes” (c. 1935)
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- <strong>Harry:</strong> “Under Stalin, artistic production was strictly controlled, but military parades were an approved Soviet subject. Look at the asymmetrical, rhythmic effect.”
- (Reproduction courtesy of the Malcolmsons)
- Aleksandr Rodchenko, “Parade on Red Square, the Formation of the Georgian Republic” (1938)
- Aleksandr Rodchenko, “Parade on Red Square, the Formation of the Georgian Republic” (1938)
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- <strong>Harry:</strong> “This is one of McFarland’s early works, dealing with the photographic process. The floor has been eroded by the discharge of photo-processing chemicals.”
- (Reproduction courtesy of the Malcolmsons)
- Scott McFarland, “Leak, Silver Reclamation” (2001)
- Scott McFarland, “Leak, Silver Reclamation” (2001)
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- <strong>Ann:</strong> “Sometimes Strand used a lens that could go around a corner, so the subject wouldn’t know that he or she was being photographed.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Harry:</strong> “Darling, this subject is blind.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Ann:</strong> “I’m not saying he used it here, just that he had such a lens.”
- (Reproduction courtesy of the Malcolmsons)
- Paul Strand, “Blind Woman” (c. 1916)
- Paul Strand, “Blind Woman” (c. 1916)
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- <strong>Harry:</strong> “This one shows how photography was influenced by the symbolist painters of the time. It’s so romantic and soft-focus.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Ann:</strong> “Do we own this?”<br /> <br /> <strong>Harry:</strong> “Of course we do.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Ann:</strong> “That’s a surprise to me. But it’s true that Harry loves nudes.”
- (Reproduction courtesy of the Malcolmsons)
- Edward Steichen, “Little Round Mirror” (1901)
- Edward Steichen, “Little Round Mirror” (1901)
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- <strong>Harry:</strong> “A highlight of the collection. The image was part of a commission by Napoleon III commemorating a trip to France by Queen Victoria.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Ann:</strong> “The paper gives it a warm, matte effect.” <br /> <br /> <strong>Harry:</strong> “I don’t agree with you about warm.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Ann:</strong> “I mean that warm, brown tone.”
- (Reproduction courtesy of the Malcolmsons)
- Édouard Baldus, “Château of Princess Mathilde, Enghien” (c. 1855)
- Édouard Baldus, “Château of Princess Mathilde, Enghien” (c. 1855)
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- (Portrait of Malcolmsons by Christopher Wahl)
- Ann and Harry Malcomson in their South Hill apartment
- Ann and Harry Malcomson in their South Hill apartment
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- Current Obsession: Deep Focus
- Current Obsession: Deep Focus
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ART
Photography Collected Us: The Malcolmson Collection
Jan. 24 to March 10
University of Toronto Art Centre
(Interviews by Katherine Ashenburg. Portrait of Malcolmsons by Christopher Wahl. Reproductions courtesy of the Malcolmsons)
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/current-obsession-deep-focus/&title=Current Obsession: the Malcolmson Collection of historical photographs gets its first hometown public exhibition&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/feb12MalcomsonIntro-624x331.jpg&description=
Most of the time, the more than 200 rare photographs owned by husband-and-wife collectors Harry and Ann Malcolmson are kept out of sight. Harry, a securities lawyer and a consultant to the World Bank, and Ann, a former social worker and a founding member of Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts, take no chances with their treasures: though the walls of the couple’s Benvenuto Place apartment are filled with iconic prints from almost every period in photographic history, the images are usually hidden behind black plastic covers to protect them from sunlight.
In their four decades of collecting, the Malcolmsons have hewed to no single aesthetic or artistic school—160-year-old photos by Maxime Du Camp hang alongside avant-garde 20th-century images by Man Ray and a smattering of contemporary work. To see all of these pictures together is to be taken through an idiosyncratic history of the medium, with no room for photos that are dull or merely journalistic. This is the exhibition’s first major showing in Toronto, so we asked the Malcolmsons to give us a private viewing of some of their favourite pieces.[gallery columns="6"]
ART
Photography Collected Us: The Malcolmson Collection
Jan. 24 to March 10
University of Toronto Art Centre
(Interviews by Katherine Ashenburg. Portrait of Malcolmsons by Christopher Wahl. Reproductions courtesy of the Malcolmsons)){kind=link}