Fonds consists of photographs by Michel Lambeth.
The fonds contains the following series of textual records: Correspondence and memoranda; Writings; Artwork; Reproduced Lambeth photographs; Subject files; Reference material; Publications; and Articles about Michel Lambeth, 1945-1977.
Included in the fonds are prints, drawings, and exhibition posters created by or for Michel Lambeth, [ca. 1950-1977]. The fonds also includes cartoons signed "Misha" which are by Michel Lambeth. Also included in the fonds are amateur films, some complete and other incomplete, done by Michel Lambeth, 1953-1965.
Lambeth, Michel, 1923-1977 : Michel Lambeth was born as Thomas Henry Lambeth in Toronto and educated at the Eastern High School of Commerce. He enlisted in the army in 1943 and served as a tank gunner in the Governor-General's Foot Guards. After serving in the Second World War, he studied art in England and Paris. Following his return to Canada in 1948, he studied English literature at the University of Toronto and became a member of the Production Unit of the Toronto Film Society, directing the short film titled, "8:15" which won first place in the Canadian Film Awards' amateur class, 1954.
Lambeth began his photography career in the mid-1950s and by 1960 was doing free-lance assignments for serials such as the Canadian Architect, Canadian Metalworking and Business Week. Between 1960 to 1968, he worked as a photojournalist for the Star Weekly. During the 1970s, Lambeth interested himself in Canadian nationalism and was a member of the Canadian Artists Representation and Committee to Strengthen Canadian Culture. He was associated with the Toronto Free Theatre during the same period.
Lambeth's work reflects a fascination for everyday activities of Canadians, following the "documentary humanism" of Andre Kertesz, Brassai and Henri Cartier-Bresson. A retrospective of his life's work, curated by his close friend Michael Torosian, was mounted in 1992 at the National Archives.
