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John Martin fonds:Finding Aid
Biographical SketchJohn (Jack) Martin was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, in 1904. His earliest studies were under his father, Harry D. Martin, an architect and designer. He studied art at the King Edward VI School, under Dr. E.A. Needham (1914-1916) and Mr. Smith (1916-1918). He also studied at the Slade School of Art and at the Birmingham School of Art (1919-1920), under E.S. Harper. In 1924, Martin moved to Canada, and two years later began working for the textile firm, H.P. Ritchie. An accomplished etcher and textile printer, he introduced the stencil screening process to Canadian textiles. In 1931, encouraged by his friend Arthur Lismer, Martin began exhibiting his paintings at the Ontario Society of Artists exhibition. He was a member of the Society of Canadian Painter-Etchers and Engravers (1938), the Ontario Society of Artists (1940), the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts (1951), the International Institute of Arts and Letters (1960), and the Canadian Group of Painters (1960). Between 1945 and 1953, he was Director of Design at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. After moving to Ayr, Ontario, in 1953, he worked as an art instructor at Ridley College, St. Catherine's, Ontario, while continuing to lecture at schools and art associations throughout Ontario during the summer, and for a year at the Nova Scotia College of Art. He was also an art instructor at the Stratford Art Society where he met and became close friends with the artist W. M. White. In 1961 he was awarded a Canada Council grant to study art and architecture in Europe. During the early 1960s he illustrated A Guide to Waterloo County and Anthony L. Kearsley's Paths of History in Perth and Huron. His paintings are represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, Vancouver Art Gallery, London Art Gallery, and Portland Art Gallery. Martin died in Ayr on November 6, 1965, after his car was struck by a drunk driver. He was married to Agnes Martin (née Bauchof). They had one daughter, Mrs. J.D. (Ann) Mitchell, who studied at the Ontario College of Art and worked as a designer in Stratford, Ontario. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Contents of the CollectionThe fonds consists of correspondence, two notebooks, two membership certificates, one photograph of Martin, and one book, Stories from De Maupassant, with Martin's bookplate. Correspondence includes two letters addressed to Martin and twenty-four postcards, fifteen addressed to Mr. and Mrs. John Martin, one addressed to John Martin, and eight addressed to Mrs. Agnes Martin, including one sent by John Martin. The two notebooks are related to Martin's architectural studies. One mostly consists of plates from Issac Ware's 1738 translation of The Four Books of Andrea Palladio while the other notebook documents Martin's studies in Europe as part of the Canada Council grant he received in 1961. The latter notebook contains a telegram from his wife, Agnes, three photographs, and two unsent postcards. The fonds also includes Martin's professional membership certificates for the National Society of Art Directors and the International Institute of Arts and Letters. Also included is a small painting of a piano and dancers by the artist's friend W.M. White and two handwritten cards with inserted paintings by White. Source of supplied title proper: Title based on contents of fonds. Physical description: Graphic material Includes 4 b&w photographs, 1 painting (oil on beaverboard panel), 1 handwritten Christmas card with painting (oil on paper), 1 handwritten card with painting (oil on cardboard panel), and 26 postcards. Immediate source of acquisition: The fonds was purchased 15 March 2006 from Jim Anderson Books in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Terms governing use and reproduction: Permission to reproduce or publish material from the John Martin fonds must be obtained from the National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives. Arrangement: Two handwritten notes by an unidentified person, which were posted on the first page of each notebook, provide some information regarding Martin's use of the notebooks. The notes have been removed and attached to separate sheets, now included with the notebooks in file 2 and 3. Related material: Related material is held by Library and Archives Canada in the Carl Schaefer fonds, which contains 64 letters with 49 illustrated envelopes from Martin to Schaefer, and 22 letters with 23 illustrated envelopes from Schaefer to Martin. Related material is also held by the Art Gallery of Ontario Library and Archives in the Jack Martin - Carl Schaefer collection, which contains 15 letters with illustrated envelopes from Schaefer to Martin. Language: Text is mostly in English, with one item in Spanish. Finding aids: Box list available. Return to the Table of Contents
Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationProcessing InformationCollection processed and finding aid prepared by Robb Gilbert in 2011.
Preferred Citation[Title of item], John Martin fonds, Library and Archives, National Gallery of Canada.
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Detailed Description of the CollectionBox List
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