Series consists of material filed or grouped by subject by Carl Schaefer, subsequently separated from the rest of his papers and found by his sons when his house in Toronto was sold after his death.
Series consists of files on various artists' societies and organizations, including the Canadian Artists Representation, Canadian Group of Painters, Canadian Society of Graphic Art, Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, Print and Drawing Council, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and Visual Arts Ontario. The series includes files of clippings containing reviews of Schaefer's work and articles about him, as well as general articles on Canadian art and other subjects of interest to Schaefer. Also included is printed material on art supplies.
Series includes personal correspondence and Christmas cards, some of which can be found in Schaefer's "H. Honors, Citations,...", "Order of Canada", "Postcards" and "Winnie P. Rowles" files. Much of the correspondence is from old friends sharing their experiences of aging or from former students keeping Schaefer up to date with events in their lives. There are also letters from collectors and from scholars studying Schaefer's work. Among the more important correspondents to note are the following: A.Y. Jackson, Herman Voaden, Arthur Lismer, Paraskeva Clark (Christmas Cards n.d., 1946); Aba Bayefsky (3), Charles Comfort, Fred Haines, Rowley Murphy (6) (Postcards n.d., 1956-1966); Caven Atkins (3), Dorothy McCurry, Charles Goldhamer, Robert Hubbard, A.J. Casson, George Johnston, Paul Goranson (Christmas cards 1958-1981); Moe Reinblatt, Jean Tweed, Jim MacKay, Louis Applebaum, John Wallack, Steven Demeter, Anthony Law, Bill Wheaton (H. Honors, Citations); Paraskeva Clark, J.E.H. MacDonald's widow, Joan (2) (Correspondence n.d.); Fritz Brandtner's widow (Correspondence 1967-1975, 1975-1976); Yvonne McKague Housser (Correspondence 1975-1976); Rosemary Kilbourn (1977); John Inglis (Correspondence 1978-1980); Maurice Haycock (Correspondence 1981-1982); Will Ogilvie (1983); Amelia Hall (1984); Tony Urquhart, Bobs Haworth (1986); William Roberts, Henri Masson (1987); David Blackwood, Julia Jarvis, Barker Fairley, George Johnston, Charles Fell, Floyd Chalmers, O.J. Firestone, Robert Ayre, Louis Applebaum, Elizabeth Holbrook (Order of Canada 1983); P. Winnie Rowles (1983-1984).
Series includes four diary/notebooks. The notebook 1955-1957 contains addresses, quotations, A.J. Casson's autograph, references to books and phonograph records, reference to Tom Thomson forgeries and the Haynes Gallery, notes on meetings at the CNE 1956-1957, the date of a general Canadian Group of Painters' meeting at Philip and Paraskeva Clark's house and a record of the annual Canadian Group of Painters' meeting at the Arts and Letters Club 1957. The notebook dated 1958 contains only one entry, for the Canadian Group of Painters annual meeting on 10 January at Philip and Paraskeva Clark's house. The 1961 notebook contains notes of appointments and social engagements in Ottawa, references to books, wines and a meeting of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, and addresses. The 1979 notebook records appointments and painting trips (Green Lake, Waterloo County and Hanover).
Series also includes a file of miscellaneous material on exhibitions. There are also a number of files on galleries, museums and publishers relating to the exhibition, purchase and publication of Schaefer's work, including files on the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Barbarian Press, Fortune Magazine 1942, Laurentian University, Market Gallery, McMichael Canadian Collection, National Gallery, Owen Sound and University of Lethbridge. There is a large file on Northward Journal, containing extensive correspondence from its publisher and editor John Flood. The series includes extensive notes by Schaefer, found by his sons among his books and papers. These include autobiographical notes; notes on his exhibitions and prints; a note on Miller Brittain; addresses; lists of things to do; lists of drawings and prints; addresses of collectors; quotations; notes on artists' supplies; notes on Hanover; a note about "experimental work"; a statement, 1968, on drawing; a note about Lawren Harris drawings; letter drafts; etc. There are also 3 pages of gestetnered notes prepared by Schaefer detailing his techniques and recipe for oil tempera.
Series consists of files on Schaefer's teaching career, including ones on the Ontario College of Art (with a few letters from Sydney H. Watson, Rebecca Sisler and English artist Mary Filer) and the Schneider School of Fine Arts (which include two drawings sent to Schaefer as souvenirs: a pen portrait of Schaefer by J. Langford Enslin, signed by fellow members of the staff in 1985, and a caricature of staff members by [Attila Zulanyi], 1988). A file on Schaefer's birthday, 1940, includes a card signed by Caven Atkins, Charles Goldhamer, et al., and verse by Caven Atkins and a file on his birthday, 1968, includes a guest book signed by John Weinzweig, Helen Weinzweig, Paraskeva Clark, Philip Clark, et al. Finally, the series also includes some papers relating to Schaefer's military service during World War II.
