Collection search - Sam Tata fonds [graphic material]

Record information – Brief
1
Sam Tata fonds [graphic material]

Hierarchical level:

Fonds

Date:

1941-1984.

Reference:

R11097-0-6-E

Type of material:

Photographs

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

211289

Context of this record:

Show detail Hide detail

Sam Tata fonds
Link to this record

Add to My Research

Link to this record

This link identifies the web page describing this particular record. Unlike the temporary link in your browser, this link will allow you to access, and reference, this page in the future. To link to this descriptive record, copy and paste the URL where ever needed (wiki, blog, document).

Sign in

Sign in to start saving records using My Research

Sign in
Record information – Details

Fonds includes:

107 lower level description(s)
View lower level description(s)

Date(s):

1941-1984.

Place of creation:

Canada

Extent:

128 photographs b&w.
7 photographs : silver gelatin portraits ; 20.3 x 25.4 cm.

Language of material:

English

Accession:

Show detail Hide detail

Portraits by and of Sam Tata [graphic material]

Scope and content:

Show detail Hide detail

The fonds includes portraits of Montrealers between 1956 and 1976 and views of Paris, France; London, Eng.; Hong Kong; Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan; Shanghai, China; and India.

The portraits are of singers, writers, film-makers, artists, and other members of the Canadian arts community including as well as people who are recognized internationally. The portraits include Alanis O'Bomsawin, Michel Tremblay, Hugh Hood, Irving Layton, Norman McLaren, P.K. Page, Françoise Loranger, Robert Charlebois, Stanley Lewis, Gratien Gélinas, Gilles Vigneault, Jean-Louis Roux, Jacques De Tonnancour, Alice Munro, Leonard Cohen, Henri Paul, Vittorio Fiorucci, Jan Menses, Bill Reid, Françoise Dallegret, Charles Gagnon, Father Gaston Petit, Roch Carrier, Roy Kiyooka, Claude Jutra, Jean Desprez, Buster Keaton, Seymour Segal and Zubin Mehta, Montréal (Québec), Edward Steichen, Yousuf Karsh, John Max, Ron Solomon, Gabor Szilasi, Vincent Sharp, Lynne Cohen, Robert Bourdeau, André Kertész, Martine Franck, Robert Frank, Bill Brandt, Arnaud Maggs, Denis Plain, Walter Curtin, David Heath, Michel Harriz, M. White-Stevens, Diana Chang, Armand Vaillancourt, Kenneth Gilbert, Moshe Safdie, Edwin Holgate, Dr. Hans Selye, Trevor Payne and Sam Tata by Derek Oss. Also included are a portrait of Henri Cartier-Bresson, taken in 1948 in Bombay, India, and Brian Brake taken in Hong Kong in 1973. There is also a self-portrait of Tata in the collection taken in Tokyo, Japan, in 1972.
There are also scenes from the Royal Visit in 1959; Saint-Jean Baptiste parade, Montreal, 1962; religious ceremonies at Saint-Joseph Oratory, 1963; street scenes on Sainte-Catherine and Sain-Laurent; and views of Montreal window displays in the 1960s.

Provenance:

Show detail Hide detail

Tata, Sam, 1911-2005

Biography/Administrative history:

Show detail Hide detail

Tata, Sam, 1911-2005 : Montreal photographer, Sam Tata was born in Shanghai, China of Indian parents in 1911. He began photographing in 1936 and after a start in street photography, he studied portraiture. He later travelled to India where he rediscovered his interests in photographing everyday life. He worked as a photojournalist, mostly generating reportage with frequent contributions to magazines in Bombay. In 1948, influenced by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Tata began using a 35mm camera and developed a more spontaneous style. Some speculate that his close friendship with Henri Cartier-Bresson resulted in Tata's commitment to practicing photojournalism full-time. He returned to Shanghai in 1949 and recorded the events before and after the establishment of Mao Tse Tung's government. He immigrated to Canada in 1956 and worked as a photojournalist, specializing in Canadian cultural life. He contributed to Chatelaine, Maclean's, Star Weekly, Canadian Art, and other such publications.
He is also well known for his portraits of artists.

He has had numerous exhibitions in major North American cities as well as Shanghai and Bombay, and has been the recipient of many awards.

Sam Tata died on 3 July 2005 in Sooke, British Columbia.

Source:

Private

Related control no.:

Show detail Hide detail

1975-150 NPC
1979-143 NPC
1982-088 NPC
1982-089 NPC
1982-090 NPC
1982-250 NPC
1985-112 NPC
2005-00301-8
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

Show detail Hide detail

Graphic (photo)

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [R11097] 1--7

[Consultation 90 Open]

Box [TATA, SAM 1985-112] 05023.1

[Consultation 90 Open]

Box [TATA, SAM 1982-088] 6392

[Consultation 90 Open]

Box [TATA, SAM 1982-089] 6392

[Consultation 90 Open]

Box [TATA, SAM 1982-090] 6392

[Consultation 90 Open]

Box [TATA, SAM 1982-250] C 0237

[Consultation 90 Open]

Box [TATA, SAM 1979-143] SC 0169

[Consultation 90 Open]

Terms of use:

Show detail Hide detail

Credit: Sam Tata/Library and Archives Canada
Copyright: The estate of Sam Tata

You can order materials in advance to be ready for you when you visit. You will need a user card to do this.

Cannot visit us on site? You can purchase a copy to be sent to you. Some restrictions may apply.