Favourites from the Gallery
We are often asked how we choose the treasures in our gallery. As my father says “Every artist has a good day and a bad day”... and we choose the good days! This comes with a lot of background knowledge, research, attention to details such as condition, quality and content, and of course personal taste. We look for quality pieces that are often overlooked, sometimes in need of restoration. We are in the enviable position to be able to buy what we like, and tend to not to cater to trends. So in a way they are all our favourites!
We invite you to enjoy selections from our staff and the stories behind why we love them.
Irina is a recent graduate from Simon Fraser University, where she studied Art History and Theory. Irina used to be part of the Art Speak artist-run center. Three years ago, she left the contemporary art world for Uno Langmann Limited and never looked back to modernity. When Irina is not researching Georgian silver spoons or photographing American tilt-top tables, she can be found amongst the stacks of the gallery reference materials, trying to memorize the last three hundred years of cultural history.
Silver chatelaine, with accessories (scissors, pocket knife Birmingham 1847, tablet London 1878, bottle and etui), French imported to England with import mark London 1896, weight approx. 5 ½ oz troy
Size: 12 ½ x 3 ½ in
“If I had to pick my favourite piece from the gallery, it would be this chatelaine. I come from an academic, theoretical background where art is something to think and write about, oftentimes without being on the same continent as the piece. Imagine my shock - and glee - when I started working here and suddenly art gained volume and weight and texture. I could not only see history eye to eye, but I was allowed to touch it, to trace the silver marks, to peer under the lid, to move and flip and weigh it. Is it any surprise that I became slightly obsessed with the material culture in which objets d’art play an essential, corporeal role?
The chatelaine is one such piece of living history. Simply put it is a belt clasp or hook with chains hung from the center, and every chain ends with useful attachments like scissors, watches, pens, or keys. During the middle ages, Chatelaine was the mistress of the castle, who typically had all the keys hanging from her girdle. The name has persisted but in the 19th century when chatelaines became popular, the function of key-carrying was expanded to encompass many other useful objects a modern woman might need. Female fashion at the time was not designed with practical use in mind, and therefore dresses lacked pockets and the purses remained quite small.
The chatelaine, on the other hand, appealed to all classes; from royalty to maids. Of course, the contents and decorations would depend solely on the wearer. A chatelaine belonging to a lady from the upper class would be made with silver or gold, encrusted with precious stones and worn like that, it was a symbol of excellent social standing. Some were designed for a specific purpose like attending a ball, painting, or sewing. But one profession has embraced the sheer practicality of the chatelain: nursing.
In the early 1800s, nursing was not considered a respectable profession for a lady and was mostly done by the special religious nursing orders. However, that changed when Florence Nightingale proved that properly educated women were capable of advancing medical treatments. Chatelaines shared some of the weight of responsibilities, carrying all the essential tools: thermometer, pencil, scissors. In the first nursing school in Canada which opened in 1874 in St. Catharines, Ontario, chatelaines were even given as a graduation present.
So why did chatelaines fall out of fashion? As women entered the workforce with increasing frequency the clothing styles adapted to support a more active lifestyle, and the purses expanded accordingly. However, its ingenuity can still be admired. From the filigree of the pierced medallion on top to the embossed silver scabbard for scissors, our chatelaine carries the weight of a century with well-practiced grace.” - Irina
Rebecca Robertson has been with the gallery since 2015 and now heads our digital marketing department. In 2011, she received her BA from UBC and majored in Art History. She has also spent time in New York receiving training in the Art Marketing, Communications and PR program from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art. When Rebecca isn’t managing the website and social media or assembling newsletters, she can be found coordinating art and culture events around the city.
Carl F. Sorensen (Danish 1818-1879) ‘Ships in a Morning Fog’, oil on cardboard, signed lower right "C. F. Sorensen". Size: 8 ½ x 13 ¼ in (with frame 14 ½ x 20 in)
“Choosing a favourite work from the gallery is certainly challenging, since I discover and rediscover new favourites continuously. Sometimes it’s love at first sight and other times I may see an artwork many times over, but on one particular day it catches my attention differently. When this happens, I love to question why. What is it exactly that is attracting me to it at this moment? Is it the colours, the subject, the technique – or all of the above? If so, what about those specific attributes made me feel a certain way – perhaps it presents me with a revelation or it becomes a source of escapism. Exploring the why often reveals that the artwork is in conversation with something going on in my life.
This month, Carl Sørensen’s painting entitled ‘Ships in a Morning Fog’ resonated with me. It reminded me of the power and sublimity of nature while also echoing the stillness that our cities have experienced in recent times.
Romanticism was at its peak in the 19th century when Sørensen painted this. Artists of this movement often emphasized emotion as a genuine source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on emotions such as uneasiness, peril, and awe - especially while experiencing the beauty of nature. Viewing this small but powerful painting not only pulls me in physically, as I lean in closer to see its details, but also metaphysically, as I am drawn into the sublime experience rendered in this idealized version of reality.
Throughout his career Sørensen travelled extensively throughout Europe, and when he was 28 he was granted permission to accompany a Danish ship to sketch the landscapes they encountered. This first-hand experience greatly contributed to him becoming one of Denmark’s finest marine artists.
Better known for his detailed renderings of ships, I feel this painting may have been inspired by Romantic artists such as J.M.W. Turner, Casper Friedrich and John Constable whose work he would have come across during his travels. The lightness and ephemeral atmospheric effects of this subjective rendering of a seascape evokes an emotional response to the natural world. Looking at it transports me to that exact evanescent moment, when the sunlight breaks through the cool fog and the unexpected calmness of the ocean's surface stops me in my tracks. By allowing myself to be immersed in this experience, exactly as the Romantics had intended it, opened my eyes and restored my perspective - and for this I am thankful. Experiencing moments like this with art is what I personally find most valuable and intriguing about a particular artwork.” - Rebecca
Joanne Fink joined the gallery in 2001 after graduating from the American Arts Program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York with a specialization in American fine and decorative arts. Joanne is a past executive member of the South Granville Gallery Association and past member of the organizing committee for the Canadian Art Foundation’s annual Vancouver Gallery Hop. She is a past board member of the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver.
Augsburg table cabinet, German 17/18th century, decorated over virtually all surfaces with marquetry of indigenous fruitwood and maple and ash depicting architectural scenes and musical instruments.
Size: 49 h x 31 w x 15.75 d (inches)
“Like many of our clients, I define myself as a collector and have accumulated many small collections of which I am very fond. Many of the items I gather are the same type that were collected back in the 17th and 18th century. In the late 19th century my family ran a silver mine and I have always been fascinated by minerals, crystals, and fossils. I also love my shells and corals, many of which were collected by my great-grandmother during her travels. My treasures would have been quite comfortable in this exquisite Augsburg table cabinet. Table cabinets, or ‘Cabinets of Curiosities’ held collections of rare notable objects. Often the objects belonged, in modern terms, to these categories: natural history, geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, antiquities and artwork (in which category this cabinet would have been included).These collections were the early form of private museums.
Our table cabinet comes out of the tradition and style of the smaller scale Kunstschranke produced first in the early 17th century for the Augsburg merchant, diplomate and collector Philipp Hainhofer. These cabinets were made from exotic and expensive materials and covered with ornament and detail intended to reflect the interest of the collector. At that time Augsburg was an important centre of handicraft in the south of Germany and it is said that there were more goldsmiths than bakers in the town. Table cabinets like ours would have taken a great deal of time and money to make. In the construction of our cabinet, the cabinet maker referenced artistic sources including contemporary etchings of ancient Greece and Rome for the ruins, and also the musical instruments and landscapes known to them. The original owner would have proudly displayed the craftsmanship of both the cabinet and its contents to his friend and peers as a symbol of his high-ranking status.
One of the best preserved Augsburg cabinets is the one gifted from the city of Augsburg to King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in 1632, and is now located in Uppsala’s Museum Gustavianum. The one in the collection of the Getty Museum in California can be explored through its Augmented Reality technology both at the museum and online allowing you to open and view the cabinet through technology.” - Joanne
Jeanette Langmann has spent her life in the arts. Daughter of Uno Langmann, she was raised in the gallery handling, polishing and restoring fine art and antiques. With over 35 years experience, Jeanette is an expert on the Canadian Antiques Roadshow, past President of the Art Dealers Association of Canada and advises institutions and the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board on appraisals. She lives in a heritage protected home and splits her time between there and family property and cidery on Bowen Island.
John A. Hammond, Rca, Osa (Canadian 1843-1939) ’Evening, Venice’, oil on board, signed lower right "J.Hammond". Size: 29 ¼ x 39 ½ in (with frame 39 x 49 in)
“I personally found this exercise difficult - to choose one item out of an entire gallery full of treasures we have collected through the years. I have so many favourites for so many reasons, but will begin with John Hammond’s Venetian harbour scene. I have always loved Hammond’s ability to capture the atmospheric mood reminiscent of the Barbizon and Hagues schools, and I feel this is one of his best works.
Not only did John Hammond have a colourful career, he is one of Canada’s earliest celebrated historical artists. Born in Montreal he worked as a marble cutter, made sketches for the Transcontinental Survey Party for the building of the railway, worked with William Notman’s Studio in Montreal, created murals for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and travelled to Japan to promote the Canadian Pacific Steamship Line. He exhibited at the Paris Salon, the National Gallery in New York, and regularly at the Royal Canadian Academy, of which he was a member. He even spent two years in New Zealand panning for gold!
Best known for marine views of the Bay of Fundy where he lived later in life, this Venetian view captivates me. Perhaps it is because Venice has been a city I have always longed to see, but have yet to visit. Hammond was a painter of the sea, and the harbour, and to me this work epitomizes his ability to capture the change in atmosphere. You can almost feel the light struggling to break through the fog, heightened by the stunning colours of the sunset.” - Jeanette
Uno Langmann is Canada’s leading authority on art and antiques from the 16th to the mid 20th century. Establishing his first antique shop on Commercial drive in 1967, he is one of the founding members of the Canadian Antique Dealers Association, an expert on the Canadian Antiques Roadshow, and recipient of the Art Dealers Association of Canada’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He has a rich history of donating and received an honourary degree, Doctor of Laws, from the University of British Columbia for his philanthropy in donating over 20,000 photographs of early BC to enhance the knowledge of our history of this province. He still plays an active role in the gallery after 53 years.
Michael Therkildsen (Danish 1850-1925) ’The Critic in the Artist's Studio’, oil on canvas, signed with initials lower left "M. Th.", inscribed on back in Danish with the names of both figures "(Valdemar) Irminger with the easel/behind him the painter (Julius) Jersild”. Size: 19 ½ x 26 ¾ in (with frame 25 ½ x 32 ¾ in)
“The reasons I chose ‘The Artist’s Critic’ as my favourite are manyfold. First, it is painted by a very competent artist, Michael Therkildsen. Second, it depicts a very important moment in all artists’ lives, when their created artwork will be judged, possibly for the first time. Third, because it depicts a moment I clearly remember from my childhood. When I see the smoke hanging over the 2 figures in the painting, I am taken back to the times when the Grownups, having finished dinner, my father and the male guests would retire to the parlour, and the cognac and Havana cigars would come out. The discussions from the dinner table would have to be settled. After a while the smoke would descend from the ceiling, biting my eyes, so I had to bend my head to get under the smoke.
It is a masterful painting, depicting the artist Julius Jersild standing (almost tiptoeing in anticipation) behind fellow artist Valdemar Irminger awaiting the judgement and critique of his easel-carried masterpiece. Usually the first reaction to a created work would be from a fellow artist. Michael Therkildsen was himself a soul painter which to me describes an artist who can see and depict the soul of his sitter, whether human or animal.” - Uno