By Matt Weingarden
The LaSalle Branch of the Essex County Library is pleased to present a collection of paintings by renowned LaSalle artist William Stidworthy from June 1 until June 29.
The display offers insight into the life and career of the Canadian artist.
Generously loaned to the LaSalle branch of the Essex County Library by local collector and enthusiast Stan Bergeron, many of the collection of paintings depict landscapes in and around Windsor-Essex and recalls our regions rich history.
For over 40 years Bergeron has collected over 200 water colour and oil paintings of rural landscapes and landmarks that he has seen as a child and young family man living in LaSalle.
Bergeron first came to know of Stidworthy’s work through a mutual friend, John Constantine
“I had said to my wife, after observing a particular beautiful tree in John’s yard, what a wonderful painting that would be,” said Bergeron. “Weeks later a painting arrived of the very same tree.”
Little did he know that his wife had commissioned the painting from Stidworthy, a friend of Constantine.
And while Bergeron didn’t know the artist or his work, that painting was the first of what would become an extensive collection accumulated over the next 40-plus years.
He began to research and post ads online and in local newspapers looking to track down, accumulate and purchase as many Stidworthy works as he could find.
Today, Bergeron owns 222 oils and water colours, probably the world’s largest Stidworthy collection. and has assembled a number of them for an exhibit at the LaSalle Branch starting June 1.
“As I learned more about the artist, I became more fascinated. I mean, how many people get to study under the Group of Seven.” he added.
Bergeron has tracked hundreds of paintings across the world. He says that many people he’s contacted are reluctant to give up their paintings.
“People find them hard to hard to part with,”
Stidworthy was known for gifting many of his paintings or use for barter.
Stidworthy was born in Torquay, Devon, U.K., in 1889, the son of a son of a son of a painter. He studied art at the Torquay School of Art and the Polytechnic School in Chelsea. At 23, he emigrated to Canada, first to Alberta to try farming, then to British Columbia, where he studied and worked with such prominent artists as John William Beatty, Carl Fellman Schaefer and Group of Seven member Francis (Franz or Frank) Johnston.
Stidworthy came to Canada in 1912 to further study and work under such famous artists as William Beatty, Ralph MacMillan, Franz Johnston (of the Group of Seven) and Carl Schaefer. Many of his landscapes of the 1920s and 1930s show the influence of the Group of Seven.
Stidworthy cam to Canada at the age of 26 and moved to Windsor at 36 years-of-age.
He lived at 155 Willow Dr. in LaSalle and died in 1977 at the age of 88.
“I really want to donate the collection to the Town of LaSalle so we can perpetuate his legacy…paintings don’t die, they last forever.,” said Bergeron.
You can find out more about Stan Bergeron and his collection of William F. Stidworthy’s paintings online. Or contact Stan at 519-971-0044.
The exhibition runs June 1 until June 29 at the LaSalle Branch of the Essex County Library 5950 Malden Rd inside the LaSalle Civic Centre.
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