Art Gallery working on fundraising plan to bring Danby exhibit to the Sault (update)

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with comments from the Art Gallery of Algoma

A comprehensive showing of the work of Sault Ste. Marie-born artist Ken Danby will be shown in the near future at the Art Gallery of Algoma if the AGA has its way.

Over 70 pieces of Danby’s work were assembled by the Art Gallery of Hamilton for their ‘Beyond the Crease’ exhibit, which was shown Oct. 22, 2016 to Jan. 15, 2017.

Shelley Falconer, Art Gallery of Hamilton president and CEO, said the exhibit was a success and will be going on the road, which will include a yet-undated stop in Sault Ste. Marie.

“(It was) really popular, right up to the last day. It’s been absolutely packed,” said Falconer.

AGA is still working on a plan to raise the necessary funds to bring the exhibit to the Sault, said curator Jasmina Jovanovic.

"We really want to bring it here," said Jovanovic. "We have to find a way to raise the money."

She said the AGA will announce the details of how the community can help at a later date.

Danby was born in 1940 in Sault Ste. Marie and died at age 67 during a canoeing trip at Algonquin Park in 2007.

Falconer said it was the discovery of an unpublished manuscript, found in the artist’s studio after his death, which sparked the creation of the exhibit.

“We found the manuscript and we wanted to do something with that. To have, in the artist’s words, everything they were doing and thinking, making some of those very iconic paintings. Given that he has passed away, we thought it was important to do something,” said Falconer.

The Art Gallery of Hamilton published a book to coincide with the exhibit, which features some of Danby’s writings along with photos of his works.

“There was so much work that was sitting in private collections that no one knew that he had done. Most people thought of Ken as someone who did these hockey pictures. I think what was nice is we were able to show the broader scope of his practice — from the landscapes to the portraits and including some of those sports images,” said Falconer.

One prominent painting in the exhibit, Opening the Gates, is on loan from the city of Sault Ste. Marie.

The painting usually hangs in the Henry C. Hamilton Room on the third floor of the Civic Centre and was commissioned by the city for the building’s opening in 1975.

It depicts the Yankcanuck cargo vessel passing through the Canadian lock at Sault Ste. Marie and is valued at $110,000. 

Because it is usually seen only by the few people who use the Hamilton reception room — Mayor Christian Provenzano welcomed Premier Kathleen Wynne in that room this morning — Falconer said most Danby buffs have never seen it in person.

“It’s one of the stronger works in the show,” she said.

Soon, art lovers in Sault Ste. Marie will be able to see many of the works at our own gallery, which resides on a street named after the artist — on Ken Danby Way.

Falconer expects the Art Gallery of Algoma to show the ‘Beyond the Crease’ exhibit sometime in 2017, after which all of the pieces from private collections — including Opening the Gates — will go back into the possession of their respective owners.