In 1970 the Gallery published a thirty-two
page catalogue entitled Master Drawings in the Collection of the
Art Gallery of Ontario. It was written by Dr. Walter Vitzthum (1928
– 1971) (fig. 1), a professor in the Department of Fine Art at the
University of Toronto who was widely acclaimed as one of the
greatest living drawings scholars. In June 1969, after being
appointed to the Gallery’s Old Masters’ Committee, Dr. Vitzthum was
allocated a small discretionary purchase fund. This modest, but
auspicious, start led to the acquisition of a group of European
drawings that constitutes the cornerstone of our collection. Copies
of the catalogue were sent to his colleagues all over the world
announcing its birth.
Dr Vitzthum led a peripatetic existence
reviewing drawings and exhibitions for the leading scholarly art
journals, Master Drawings and The Burlington Magazine. Following
regular trips to Venice, where he kept an apartment, he would pass
through London and Paris, visit dealers and arrange for drawings to
be dispatched in plain brown wrappers….want
to read further? Purchase the exhibition catalogue.