Subseries

This subseries contains correspondence sent by William Brymner to Clarence A. Gagnon when the latter was living in Paris. There are nine letters from Brymner sent between April 28, 1904, and October 24, 1905, plus a tenth missive dated December 31, 1917. Brymner's letters were mailed from Montreal, the village of St. Famille on Île d'Orléans, and St. Eustache.

Brymner's warm, personal letters reveal his affection for the young artist and the friendship between the two men. Gagnon first met Brymner when he was a student of his at the Art Association. In his correspondence, Brymner shares his thoughts on the profession and asks the young man about the works of the great masters that he has been able to see. He gives his impressions of the work Gagnon was regularly sending to Montreal, displayed at the Art Association gallery, and discusses his concerns regarding the progress of his own work and the financial constraints that forced him to continue teaching.

Brymner's correspondence also chronicles the activities of other artists in their circle, which included many well-known Canadian painters. At the same time, it draws a portrait of the arts scene of that era by revealing an entire network of personal and professional connections. For example, when Gagnon first arrived in Paris, Brymner recommended that he contact Montreal painter James Wilson Morrice, who was also living there. He regularly asked after the health and work of other artists staying in the City of Light at this time, including Edward Boyd, Henri Hébert and Frederick William Hutchison. In return, he shared the latest news about colleagues and friends back home in Canada. In 1904, Brymner told a story about running into William Cruikshank in the company of Edmund Morris and Horatio Walker when he was staying on Île d'Orléans. He talked about people like William Henry Clapp, who was preparing to join Gagnon in Paris, and Edmond Dyonnet, who was distraught over his niece's illness, as well as the exhibition he was presenting with Maurice Cullen and the exhibition that John Henry Stanford wanted to organize in London.

In addition, the correspondence brings to light some practices common to the Montreal art scene. For example, Brymner sent Gagnon an order from businessman Charles Porteous requesting that he produce a copy of The Poor Fisherman, a painting by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes displayed in Luxembourg. He also gave him some advice on how to do deal with Montreal businessman James Morgan, who had taken Gagnon under his wing. The last letter from Brymner, dated 1917, chronicles the fact that Canadian painters were being sent to the front to document military activities during the First World War.