Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
James Fenwick Lansdowne fonds
General material designation
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Title statements of responsibility
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Level of description
Fonds
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
2.885 m of photographic materials (photographs, negatives, positives, slides, paper photocopies) and textual records and sketches, and other materials.
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
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Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
James Fenwick Lansdowne was a Canadian wildlife artist whose work focused on birds and was frequently compared to that of renowned nineteenth century naturalist and painter John James Audubon. Lansdowne was born in Hong Kong and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, where he lived for most of life and where he had a studio. He was bedridden or in a wheelchair for long portions of his childhood due to polio, and it was during this time he taught himself to paint. Despite having receiving no formal training in art, by the time he was 20 his work had been exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum and he had been profiled by MacLean's magazine as one of Canada's foremost bird artists. In addition to his paintings, his work was featured in advertisements, books, and even presented to the British Royal Family. Lansdowne was elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1974), made an Officer of the Order of Canada (1976), and awarded the Order of British Columbia (1995).
Custodial history
Lansdowne’s family maintained custody of the records from the date of his death in 2008, until their donation to RBSC in 2019.
Scope and content
This fonds consists predominantly of photographs and other reproductions of Lansdowne’s work which were created over the course of his career. Artwork contained in the fonds include unfinished drawings and sketches, reproductions and prints, as well as art inventory files which provide details of works that were sold, and for specific named projects. The fonds also includes business and personal correspondence, as well as financial records pertaining to the sale of artwork, Lansdowne’s services as a commercial painter, and his business relationship with M.F. Feheley Arts Company Limited and TDF Artists Limited. Records also include biographical information, awards and ephemera, along with publications containing his work, and newspaper clippings about his work and career. Photographs depict family and friends, Lansdowne at work, as well as publicity photographs.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
All records were donated by Lansdowne’s family in 2019.
Arrangement
While there is no original order for most of the materials, Lansdowne did develop a numbering system for his art inventory files. He also organized much of his correspondence into files.
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Records indicate that copyright for some artworks was transferred to M.F. Feheley Arts Company Limited, and possibly other publishers; otherwise, copyright remains with Lansdowne’s estate.
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
General note
PH-001 to PH-1221
General note
Files numbers 01-08 and 32-05 were intentionally skipped.
Physical description
2.885 m of photographic materials (photographs, negatives, positives, slides, paper photocopies) and textual records and sketches
1.695 m of textual materials
416 small negatives
297 medium prints
206 small slides
101 small prints
96 drawings and watercolours : 73 x 53 cm and smaller
63 large prints
63 medium contact sheets
51 banner segments : 100 x 76 cm or 150 x 100 cm
18 small contact sheets
16 prints : 85 x 64 cm or smaller
11 posters : 98 x 68.5 cm or smaller
9 pages containing pressed flowers and plants as well as some drawings
6 large contact sheets
2 rolled posters
2 cassette tapes
1 small sketchbook containing watercolours and sketches
1 rolled calendar
1 rolled declaration
1 rolled certificate
1 framed letter
1 VHS tape
Alternative identifier(s)
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Description record identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
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Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Finding aid was produced by James Goldie, Weiyan Yan, Atreya Madrone, Mya Ballin, Jacky Lai and Catherine Hall, between November 2019 and August 2023.