March 9,1917 Private Viewing

March 9, 1917

The private viewing for the Spring Exhibition happened tonight. I didn’t go but I heard about it afterwards. Curtis Williamson and Bill Beatty came back late in the evening and gave me a full report. The Exhibition is set up in the Public Reference Library where the Toronto Art Museum has their gallery. Bill said the attendance of the private viewing was surprisingly good – better than other years. He said that when Charles Jefferys announced that the proceeds of ticket sales were going to the Patriotic Fund, it became a must-attend event for Society members. Everyone wants to be seen as supporting the War effort. More importantly, in my estimation, everyone wants to see their names in print as these events are covered well in the newspapers. Jim MacDonald was supposed to be there but Bill said that his wife got sick and they didn’t come.

Curtis said that Sammy Sampson’s picture of the members of Arts and Letters Club was a pleaser. A crowd was around it all evening. If people like to see their names in the paper, even better, they like to see their faces in a portrait. Bill added that Sammy did a good job of the painting, it reminded him of the School of Athens. I agree with Bill. I saw Sammy working on it in January but it’s not something I would paint.