Fonds 1160 - Frederick Coates fonds

Identity area

Reference code

UTA 1160

Title

Frederick Coates fonds

Date(s)

  • 1867-1975 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

13.27 m of graphic and textual records and and artifacts (42 boxes)

Context area

Name of creator

(1890-1965)

Biographical history

Frederick Coates was born September 27, 1890 in Nottingham, England, the son of Frederick Charles and Abigail Dexter Coates. He was the eldest of four children. Around 1909 he attended Nottingham School of Art where he took courses in drawing and architectural history. After travelling to Paris, he returned to London in 1911 to enroll in the Royal College of Art where he received three years of instruction in sculpture and modelling in the space of a year, graduating as a sculptor. Fred emigrated to Canada in 1913 settling in Toronto and shared a studio with a few other Toronto sculptors. In 1916, he enlisted as a private in the No. 2 Canadian Army Medical Corps as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and served at the Westcliffe Eye and Ear Hospital at Folkestone and at the Queen's Hospital in Sidcup. His talent as a sculptor was employed in constructing plaster models from photographs of a patient's face before and afterinjury. Doctors used these models to reconstruct faces disfigured by war injuries.

Following his discharge from the service in 1919, he returned to Toronto. His work as sculptor and model maker led to his work with theatre groups, such as Hart House Theatre at the University of Toronto. In 1922-23 he prepared designs for costumes and stage settings. The success of this undertaking led to his appointment as Art Director for the Theatre. In 1922 he married Louise Brown (b. 1889), a talented painter and graduate of the Ontario College of Art. He returned as Art Director of Hart House Theatre for the 1929-1930 season. After resigning as Art Director he went on to teach model making at the School of Architecture at the University. He remained as a part-time instructor until his retirement in 1962.

Frederick Coates and his wife, Louise Brown Coates lived for many years in their house overlooking the Scarborough Bluffs. Frederick Coates died in June 1965 and his wife, Louise, died in 1975. They willed their property to the University of Toronto in trust for the establishment of a scholarship at the Faculty of Architecture.

Name of creator

(1889-1975)

Biographical history

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Consists of 6 accessions which include correspondence, notes, notebooks, sketchbooks, sketches, designs for stage sets, costume designs, photoprints and photonegatives, scrapbooks documenting the artistic lives of Frederick Coates and his wife, Louise Brown. The photographs include images of Frederick's family, his military service in World War I, dance, and his work in the reconstruction of the faces of maimed soldiers, his studio and their house, and models of buildings. Also includes Guest Book for "Sherwood House", with invitations to dramatic productions held therein; three letters between members of the Hoitt family (1867, 1885). Also included are water colours of costume designs, 5 Art Deco works of art, consisting of Coates' three stage sets for 'Danse Fronds' (ca. 1929), 'Fashions' (ca. 1928), and 'The Storm Centre' (1927); a theatre design featuring a clown; and a still life entitled 'The Blue Plate' (1922). Artifacts include medals, printing blocks, pottery, 20 modelling tools and a sculpture documenting their careers and artistic work.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Finding aids for accessions B1975-0015 (Box list for works of art, photographs and negatives) and B1997-0033 only.

Uploaded finding aid

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Accession

B1975-0015

Accession

B1979-0016

Accession

B1997-0020

Accession

B1997-0033

Accession

B1998-0035

Accession

B2000-0003

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Dates of creation revision deletion

Added to AtoM by E. Sommers, Nov. 2017

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related places