Toronto Art History on the Market

A piece of Toronto's art history, The Portrait Studio Home, located at 181 Balmoral Ave, is on the market. I've long admired this house. However, I was unaware of its significance until the for sale sign was posted on the front lawn.

It turns out that 181 Balmoral was the longtime residence of Cleeve and Jean Horne. "Who," you might be asking, "are the Horne's?" Cleeve was a famous portrait artist and sculptor, and his wife, Jean, a sculptor. Among the portraits Cleeve Horne painted were, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, as well as past presidents and other diginitaries of the University of Toronto.

The Horne's purchased the house in 1940 and in 1947 had it redesigned in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Cleeve Horne's portrait work spans a period of over 4 decades. His work reflects a cubist influence that became more evident in his later portraits. Horne painted colour and light in shapes and patterns, using muted tones with a hit of colour that gives his portraits their richness. The Diefenbaker portrait is a spectacular example of Horne's work.

To see more of Horne's work, go to the Cleeve Horne website or, to the Ontario Society of Artists archives. If you go to Simcoe Hall at the UofT you will also see several portraits on display.

Click here for the real estate listing.

I'm guessing the ad-man didn't bet on this ...

In one of those sub-conscious twists, the Vancouver Olympic Committee (and their media agency) has managed to reference the gun violence reported just a few weeks ago in both Vancouver and Toronto.

It happened one morning on my way to work, I was riding the Yonge subway heading south when the train pulls into Dundas Station. The train starts to slow down and the advertising posters that line the wall of the platform catch my attention.

Odd, they all look like shattered glass with a dark hole. The hole appears in different locations on the posters ... the images makes me think that bullets have just blasted through a series of plate glass windows. It looks like a subway drive-by has just taken place. Finally, we happen upon the one poster that explains all of the rest.

I couldn't quite read the 'reveal' poster, but the word change appeared near the top and I recognized the logos for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. I quickly deduce that the series is an ad campaign for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and the 'bullet through plate glass' posters are actually change, i.e., a giant pile of silver coins with a circular area cleared (hence the bullet hole effect!) with the exception of one lone coin. I assume it is one of those Olympic quarters?

Next stop, Queen St ...