The Legacy of North Shore, Lake Superior

The story behind the magnificent Lawren Harris painting in our November auction, North Shore, Lake Superior, circa 1927, is as powerful as the work itself.

Uncovering the history of works consigned to us is an integral part of what we do. In the course of bringing this previously unknown work to market, it’s been great privilege to learn about North Shore, Lake Superior’s legacy, and to learn about its intended impact on the lives of children.

Throughout the process Dr. Brenda Gallie has generously shared her time with us. Liz Edwards, Director of our Canadian Art Department, spoke with Dr. Gallie recently and captured the amazing story.

LE: North Shore, Lake Superior was a gift to your grandfather from Lawren Harris himself. Can you tell us about the remarkable circumstances?

BG: My grandfather – he was William Edward Gallie, but everyone called him WEG – was a family friend of the Harris family. WEG was a general and pediatric surgeon.

One of Harris’ sons fell ill with appendicitis, and my grandfather was called upon and performed an emergency appendectomy. WEG refused to send a bill for the surgery as they were friends, and so it was resolved that in return for his help, WEG could select a sketch, and Harris produced the canvas and gave it to my grandfather.

The painting has remained with our family ever since. And just as an aside, my father sketched with Harris in the Rockies several times as a family friend.

LE: Your grandfather had a real love for this painting. Where did he hang it?

BG: It was first intended to hang in the living room of my grandparents home, but my grandmother Louise Gallie, who was a very strong woman, did not like the painting – she preferred the European style.

So WEG took the Harris painting to his office in the Medical Arts building on Bloor Street (Toronto) and it hung opposite his desk for his whole medical career until his death in 1959. He looked at it every day throughout his practice, and it had a great impact on him.

LE: Tell us a little bit about your grandfather’s legacy in medicine, because he left something behind that has had a major contribution to medicine.

BG: So he had a big dream. Up until that time, surgeons were trained one-on-one like an apprentice. They would learn the good things, but also the bad things. It prevented broader knowledge sharing and advancement. WEG wanted to create a systematic training program, where trainees would move from one hospital to another to learn from a variety of surgeons. Toronto was the perfect place because there were multiple hospitals as part of the University of Toronto Department of Surgery. It was developed into a formal residency training program in 1931, called the Gallie Course in Surgery, and has been implemented across Canada and adopted worldwide. It is still used to train surgeons to this day. He was lauded with all kinds of awards, became the Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto in 1929, and was made the Dean of Medicine in 1936.

LE: You are also a doctor. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of North Shore, Lake Superior is going to the International Retinoblastoma Consortium. Could you tell us a little bit about the IRC’s mandate and your role in that organisation?

BG: In about 2001, I led a team on health informatics research at the Princess Margaret Hospital (Toronto) and they developed a database called E-Cancer Care Retinoblastoma that was implemented at Sick Kids Hospital (Toronto). It is a fantastic resource for research, but also for recording and understanding the full spectrum of care, treatment and follow-up of the patient. Now we have more than 20 years of high quality clinical data on every child with retinoblastoma. Almost all of the patients we are now seeing as adults are in E-Cancer Care. We saw the value in having access to a tool like this beyond just Sick Kids, and especially in situations where there are multi-jurisdictional teams. Read about Retinoblastoma.

We started to develop DEPICT (Disease-specific E-Patient Illustrated Clinical Timeline) Health, a cloud-based tool modeled on this E-Cancer Care, that can be securely accessed worldwide and improves communication for all cancer patients, their families and their medical teams. Research becomes a valuable by-product of having all of this data in one place. We have retrospective data that can minimize the time spent on randomized trials. The data is already available. We formed the International Retinoblastoma Consortium as a registered charity to support the development of DEPICT Health and ultimately facilitate communication across the circle of care around the world.

LE: So the sale of this painting will make a real impact on the quality of patient care and saving young lives. What a legacy!

BG: Absolutely. I have big wonderful ideas that can change the world. That’s why I have an Order of Canada pin. But I’m no good at raising money. I get really excited as you can hear right now talking about it. I just gave a talk in Saudi Arabia on how it is relevant to bring their centres together and all of that sort of thing. So that’s the story line.

LE: What does the painting mean to you? How does it connect you to your grandfather’s practice and your life’s work?

BG: I see it very strongly connecting me to my grandfather. I feel a strong connection to him anyway, but the painting really ties us together. I feel like my ancestors and my descendants and everything are all tied together, and this painting has a very special role in our whole family, but it’s a bit more than that. The painting has the power to remind me that WEG had a big vision that he made happen and that contributed to making the world better. I also have a big vision with Depict Health and it’s changing the world for children all over the world. It is much bigger than me.

North Shore, Lake Superior is offered in our November 2024 major auction of Canadian & International Fine Art. Read our interview with Alec Blair about being able to add a new Harris work to the Lawren S. Harris Inventory Project.

ABOUT THE AUCTION

Alongside Lawren Harris’ North Shore, Lake Superior, our major fall auction of Canadian and International Art includes an early abstract by Rita Letendre, a charming composition by Jean Paul Lemieux, an urban scene by Peter Clapham Sheppard and three iconic sculptures by British artist Lynn Chadwick. Other notable artists represented in this auction include William Kurelek, James Wilson Morrice, Jean McEwen, David Hockney, and Shirin Neshat.

PUBLIC PREVIEWS

Previews are available at our new Toronto gallery, located at 100 Broadview Avenue, just south of Queen Street East.

Saturday, November 23 from 12 pm to 4 pm
Sunday, November 24 from 12 pm to 4 pm
Monday, November 25 from 10 am to 5 pm
Tuesday, November 26 from 10 am to 5 pm
Or by appointment.

Contact us for more information.