Presentation from 6 – 6:30pm
Join 221A for a presentation and reception for Fellow Amy Nugent’s project, The Sculpture Fund. The evening will unfurl a narrative account of Nugent’s extensive inquiry into the estate of sculptors Frances Loring (1887–1968) and Florence Wyle (1881–1968) whose last will and testament called for the creation of The Sculpture Fund: an art acquisition fund for galleries and museums.
In spite of their illustrious careers, substantial artistic output, and noted generosity, Loring and Wyle are today largely overlooked in the annals of Canadian art history. Through archival research and forensic accounting, Nugent reveals the story of the artists’ unrealized legacy; tracing the dispersion of their estate as it was passed between the hands of friends, dubious collectors and dealers, underfunded institutions, a notorious Toronto business family, and the Art Gallery of Ontario. In unfolding this investigation, Nugent develops an historical account and critical analysis of public Canadian art collections and offers an urgent case for supporting new forms of acquisition funding.
This event is a conclusion to Nugent’s Fellowship at 221A and the beginning of a new chapter in the story of Frances Loring and Florence Wyle. The creation of the fund will be a vital infrastructure for Canada’s art market and an act of restitution—not only for Loring and Wyle, but for the countless women artists whose lives and legacies have met an unjust fate.
Project Support
