Collection search - Ernst Neumann fonds [graphic material, textual record]

Record information – Brief
1
Ernst Neumann fonds [graphic material, textual record]

Hierarchical level:

Fonds

Date:

ca. 1924-1955.

Reference:

R2440-0-X-E, MG30-D366

Type of material:

Textual material, Art

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

101893

Context of this record:

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Ernst Neumann fonds
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Record information – Details
Fonds includes:

246 lower level description(s)
View lower level description(s)

Date(s):

ca. 1924-1955.

Place of creation:

Québec (Province)

Extent:

156 prints : etchings, lithographs.
49 drawings : pen, pencil, charcoal and pastel.
1 cm of textual records.
5 watercolours.
1 reproduction.
36 printing plates.

Language of material:

English

Scope and content:

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Fonds consists of works of art by Ernst Neumann including five etchings titled from the court scene prints: "The Accused", "Appeal Court", "The Plea", "Consultation", and "Lawyers and Clients", dated 1949; a lithograph titled "Unemployed No. 7", dated 1934; and a drawing titled "Victims of the Depression in Early Canada", which depicts a mother, a child, and an elderly gentleman seated by steps with a man standing in a doorway, 1933. Also included are two prints; one, a view of St. Sauveur, Quebec and the other, of Bonsecours Market in Montreal, 1944.

Additional art material acquired in 2005 includes many drawings and sketches made by Neumann while in art school. Of note are sketches of models from life drawing classes, a sketch of the artist's studio, portraits of fellow students, a self-portrait, anatomical studies, and studies of unemployed or homeless men. Also acquired were numerous prints which include nude and figure studies, portraits, street scenes, Montreal architecture, the Montreal port and docked ships, and landscapes of the Quebec countryside.

The fonds contains papers relating to Ernst Neumann, including two letters and two catalogues. One catalogue also has a covering letter from Quebec Graphic Arts, n.d., 1924-1955.

A final accrual from the collection of Murray Marmor was made in 2010 and included additional drawings and sketches, further prints, etchings and lithographs and the printing plates used by Neumann to create the works.

Provenance:

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Neumann, Ernst, 1907-1956
Additional name(s):

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Benjamin, Henry

École des beaux-arts de Montréal

Miller, Ruth
Biography/Administrative history:

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Neumann, Ernst, 1907-1956 : Artist Ernst Neumann was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1907, of Austrian parentage. In August 1912, the family emigrated to Canada. After completion of high school, Neumann began art studies at the newly created École des Beaux-Arts in Montreal where he excelled in printmaking. In addition, he followed life drawing classes, sponsored by the Royal Canadian Academy, at the Art Association of Montreal. His print-making skills were further honed through an apprenticeship at a lithographic firm in the mid-1920s. Neumann developed many strong friendships with other Montreal artists including Goodridge Roberts, Herman Heimlich, Jori Smith and Sam Borenstein. In 1936, together with Goodridge Roberts, he formed the Roberts-Neumann School of Art which offered classes in drawing and painting and in art appreciation. The school would run for three years and became a meeting place for Montreal artists. The Depression and its victims were strong subject matter for the compassionate artist. He completed a series of drawings and prints of the unemployed. In 1939, Neumann had his first one-person exhibition of prints at the Art Association of Montreal. Many of his works focussed on the Montreal cityscape, street life, and the surrounding countryside and provided him with a form of reliable income. A further series of six images, completed in the 1940s, comprised court scene prints and stemmed from the artist's stint as court reporter. Although he applied, Neumann was never accepted as a war artist.

Neumann became a strong and recognized participant in the Montreal artistic scene. However, although many of his friends had studied and sketched abroad, his first European trip wasn't until 1954. That year, Neumann served as a delegate, representing the Canadian Council for the Arts, at a U.N.E.S.C.O. conference. He followed this with several months travel, drawing his way across Europe. In an effort to fund a more lengthy overseas sabbatical, Neumann applied for and received his first successful grant submission. In 1955, he travelled to France on a Royal Society of Canada year-long fellowship. He spent several months in Paris. Early in 1956, while visiting his fellow Canadian artist friend Brodie Shearer, in Vence France, Ernst Neumann succumbed to a heart attack at the young age of forty-nine.

Finding aid:

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Graphic material: (Electronic) The majority of the prints, drawings and watercolours are described on the LAC website. (90: Open)

Additional information:

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General note:

Six prints were purchased from Fraser Bros., Montreal, Que.; two prints were purchased from Jim A. Hennok Ltd, Toronto, Ont.; and a drawing purchased from Sotheby and Co. (Canada) Limited, Toronto, Ont.
One letter was received in 1989 from Henry Benjamin of Montréal through the Documentary Art and Photography Division. The rest of the textual material was received in 1990 from Ruth Miller of Montreal, again through the Documentary Art and Photography Division.

Custodial history:

Two large acquisitions were made from the collection of Mr. Murray Marmor in 2005 and 2010.

Container note(s):

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28 : Printing plates
29 : Printing plates
30 : Printing plates
31 : Printing plates
Subject heading:

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Montréal (Québec)

Graphic arts Canada

Arts graphiques Canada

Graphic arts Québec
Source:

Private

Related control no.:

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011-89
118-020156-6
1970-096 PIC
1989-017 DAP
1989/0106 MSS
1997-00117-9
1997-511 VSA
2005-00040-X
2011-00016-5
POE 97-698 (1997-12-01)

Former archival reference no.:

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MG30-D366
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

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Textual records

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [MG30 D 366] 1

[Consultation 90 Open]

Graphic (art)

[Consultation90 Open]
Researchers must be accompanied by an art archivist.

Volume [R2440] 26--35

[Consultation 90 Open]

26 Item no. assigned by LAC 78; 85--87; 93--112; 114--131; 133-148

[Consultation 90 Open]

27 Item no. assigned by LAC 149--199

[Consultation 90 Open]

28 Item no. assigned by LAC 200--208

[Consultation 90 Open]

29 Item no. assigned by LAC 209--217

[Consultation 90 Open]

30 Item no. assigned by LAC 218--228

[Consultation 90 Open]

31 Item no. assigned by LAC 229--235

[Consultation 90 Open]

32 Item no. assigned by LAC 79--81

[Consultation 90 Open]

33 Item no. assigned by LAC 82--84; 113

[Consultation 90 Open]

34 Item no. assigned by LAC 88--89; 132

[Consultation 90 Open]

35 Item no. assigned by LAC 90--92

[Consultation 90 Open]

Terms of use:

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Credit: Library and Archives Canada.
Copyright: expired.

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