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Christopher Varley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christopher Varley
Born
Christopher John Varley

(1950-09-19)September 19, 1950
Vancouver, Canada
EducationSimon Fraser University (grad. 1972)
Known forCanadian art historian, curator, private art dealer, art and cultural commentator
SpouseSandra Shaul (married 1986)

Christopher Varley (born 1950)[1] is a Canadian art historian, curator, private art dealer, art and cultural commentator.[1] He is the grandson of F. H. Varley.

Career

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Christopher Varley was born in Vancouver and received his B.A. from Simon Fraser University, graduating in 1972. He was the Assistant Curator at the Vancouver Art Gallery, 1974-1977 and the Head Curator at the Edmonton Art Gallery, 1979-1983.[1] In 1983, he moved to Toronto and became a private art dealer specializing in historical Canadian art as well as a freelance curator and consultant.[1] He has donated work to galleries such as the McMaster Museum of Art[2] and The Image Centre to which he gave an entire collection of 542 photographs by various Canadian makers from the 19th century to the 20th.[3]

Writing

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Varley is the author of F. H. Varley (National Gallery of Canada 1979); F.H. Varley: a centennial exhibition ( Edmonton Art Gallery, 1981);[1] Hans Hofmann (1880-1966): an introduction to his paintings (Edmonton Art Gallery, 1982); Morrice to Borduas: painting in Montreal from 1900-1950 (Edmonton Art Gallery, 1982); Winnipeg west: painting and sculpture in western Canada, 1945-1970 (Edmonton Art Gallery, 1983);[1] William Nicoll Cresswell (1818-1888): Man from Seaforth (with Barry Fair, London Regional Art Gallery, 1986);[1] Aba Bayefsky revisited: a retrospective exhibition (Koffler Gallery, 1989);[1] The Development of the modern market for historical Canadian art (Typescript of a speech given at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, on April 15, 2004)[4] and other catalogues, He also writes articles on subjects such as the Group of Seven for the Canadian Encyclopedia[5] and reviews shows for Galleries West magazine.[6]

His writing on F. H. Varley has been respectfully reviewed by his peers[7] as has his writing on the Contemporary Arts Society which was said to be "a tribute to his energy, enthusiasm and insight".[8]

His e-mail commentary[1] in existence since 2010 with a set list of recipients covers a wide variety of topics, politics, society, economics and finance, along with art and culture with individual artist profiles on artists such as Arthur Lismer.[9] He also has discussed the art market and auction sales of art.[10]

Memberships

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  • Canadian Museums Association, 1982-1983;[1]
  • Alberta Association Architects, 1982-1983;[1]
  • Friends of the Canadian Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario;[1]
  • Founding Director, The Funding Network (Toronto) 2005-2015;[1]
  • Art Dealers Association of Canada, 2010-2013[1]

Awards

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  • Canada Council Travel Grant, 1982;[1]
  • Western Canada Art Association Publishing Award, 1984[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Christopher Varley". Who`s Who in Canada. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Exhibitions". museum.mcmaster.ca. McMaster Museum of Art, 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Exhibitions". theimagecentre.ca. The Image Centre. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Author". ago.ent.sirsidynix.net. Art Gallery of Ontario. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Author". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Author". www.gallerieswest.ca. Galleries West Magazine. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  7. ^ Davis, Ann (1982). "(Review of) F.H. Varley: A Centennial Exhibition by Christopher VARLEY". Journal of Canadian Art History. 6 (2): 228–231. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  8. ^ Sandra Paikowsky, "Review of Contemporary Arts Society catalogue". Journal of Canadian Art History, vol.. 5, no. 2 (1981), pp. 138 ff.
  9. ^ "Christopher Varley". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  10. ^ Sandals, Leah. "Article: Reflecting on Canada's Fall Auctions, Beyond the Big Sales". canadianart.ca. Canadianart Magazine, Nov 29, 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2023.