The series consists of Charles S. Band's artists files. The files contain correspondence from Louis Archambault, B.C. Binning, Emily Carr, Jean Dallaire, L.L. FitzGerald, Lawren S. Harris, Dora de Pédery Hunt, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Jock Macdonald, Alfred Pellan, Harold Town and Frederick Horsman Varley. Also included is correspondence relating to the sale of artists' work, including material on Paul-Émile Borduas and Jean-Paul Riopelle. The fonds offers documentation on the development of an important private collection of Canadian art, as well as offering information on the lives and careers of Band's correspondents.
In particular, the B.C. Binning correspondence documents Band's reliance on Lawren Harris for advice regarding his collection and his search for the best of an artist's work; the Paul-Émile Borduas correspondence documents the relationship between the New York dealer Martha Jackson and her Canadian client; the Emily Carr correspondence documents her frustrations sending work to the east and not knowing how it is being received, discusses her painting practices, her sales to other collectors, exhibitions, the work of other artists, and other subjects.
The Lawren Harris correspondence discusses Band's buying of Harris works, Sampson-Matthews silkscreens, the Emily Carr Trust Collection, a Modigliani Harris thinks Band should buy, and his trip to Reno, Nevada, in 1934. The Harris files include letters from fellow collectors Jack Vaughan and J.A. MacAuley. The A.Y. Jackson correspondence includes a four-page memo from Jackson outlining his views on public and private collections. The Arthur Lismer correspondence includes a number of letters illustrated with doodles by the artist and documents the deep friendship between the two men, as well as their association with the Art Gallery of Toronto. The Alfred Pellan correspondence includes a detailed description of the meaning of one of his paintings. The Fred Varley correspondence includes a letter from Maud Varley regarding the National Film Board's Varley documentary, as well as letters from Vera Mortimer.
The Band files also include correspondence relating to the sculptor Henry Moore, including four letters from him.
A small number of photographs were contained in these files, depicting either Canadian artists, or their works, including B.C. Binning, P.E. Bourduas, Emily Carr, Dora De Pedery-Hunt, A.Y. Jackson, Alfred Pellan, J.P. Riopelle, Harold Mortimer-Lamb, and Frederick Varley. One photographs depicts C.S. Band.
