Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1876-1981 (Creation)
Level of description
Manuscript Collection
Extent and medium
37 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Emily Warren was born in Exeter, Devon, in 1869. Notably, she was John Ruskin's last pupil. She graduated from the College of Art, South Kensington, and also took certificates in biology, botany and geology to obtain the kinds of knowledge considered necessary for an artist's career. She came to Canada in 1921 to complete two very large canvasses which had been commissioned by Sir Robert Borden in London during the first World War. She travelled back and forth across Canada delivering lectures illustrated by handcoloured glass slides reproducing her own paintings. Her Canadian work sold well, and there was also a demand for her paintings of England and the continent of Europe. This and her need for additions to her slide collections necessitatd many painting trips abroad, and she continued to travel until she was 84 years old. She died in 1956 at the age of 87.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donated by Constance McRae
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The collection consists of glass slides used by Emily Warren to illustrate her lectures in the 1920's and 1930's, as well as some lecture notes and other writings by Warren. It also contains a few items relating to John Ruskin, including five pieces of manuscript, a typescript of Constance McRae's book on Emily Warren, The Light must be Perfect (1981), and some of her research material. There are also two large volumes of coloured slides of Emily Warren's paintings.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Material may be requested in person at the Fisher Library Reference Desk, or in advance using our online stack retrieval request form: https://fisher.library.utoronto.ca/stack-retrieval-request
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English