Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1865-1867 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
45 drawings on paper
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Jules Frederic Wegman was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland on 14 July 1865 and received his early education there. He came to the United States with his father Julius, also an architect, at the age of ten years and trained with him. At one point he was sent to Jerusalem to measure the city and its buildings, and his drawings were used to reproduce the city at the Worlds’ Fair at St. Louis in 1904. Wegmen then spent several years in the Chicago office of Daniel H. Burnham & Co., a leading figure of American architecture. He appears to have also worked there under his own name, and is credited with the design of the Newbury Building, South Wabash Avenue at East Ninth Street in Chicago, in 1896. In 1905 he was invited to join the Toronto firm of Darling & Pearson, and worked there until his death in 1931, becoming a partner in 1924. He worked on the Sun Life Building in Montreal, the North Toronto Station at Yonge and Summerhill, and the 1925 expansion of the Art Gallery of Toronto. He spoke at least four languages fluently and traveled widely, collecting photographs and drawings of architectural details. In 1911 he joined the Arts and Letters Club and lunched there regularly. In 1912 he was Chairman of the Toronto Chapter of the Ontario Association of Architects and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada shortly before his death.
Repository
Archival history
The drawings were likely acquired with a gift of architectural books by George Curry in 1936-1937. There is no specific mention of the drawings in the accession record.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Source of acquisition is uncertain.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The collection consists of 45 architectural drawings in ink and wash, comprising elevations and details of major Italian and German churches, probably drawn as student projects.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Access to Special Collections is by appointment only. Please contact the reference desk for more information.
Conditions governing reproduction
Material in this collection is in the public domain. Permission of the Art Gallery of Ontario is required for publication.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A finding aid is available for this collection.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
The institutional files of the Art Gallery of Ontario contain blueprints of the 1925 expansion for the Art Gallery of Toronto, signed by Jules Wegman. See the library staff for more information.
Notes area
Note
Drawings are labelled in German.
Note
The collection has been arranged by the archivist in one series, chronologically, with undated drawings at the end. The drawings were titled and dated by the artist.