Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

LEO SINGER

Date Range From

1930

Date Range To

1970

Materials

OIL PAINT, WOOD

No. Pieces

1

Height

3.5

Length

42

Width

32.2

Description

OIL ON BOARD PAINTING OF LEO SINGER AS NATIVE CHIEFTAIN. DOMINATE COLOURS IN WORKS ARE PRPL, YLLW, WHT, BLK, RD AND BL. PORTRAIT SHOWS SINGER WEARING NATIVE FEATHERED HEAD DRESS. BOTTOM LEFT CORNER SIGNED BY ARTIST "JAMES HUNT". WOOD FRAME PAINTED CREAM WITH GLD STRIP. MARKED "GAINSBROUGH GALLERIES 310 - 7TH ST SOUTH - LETHBRIDGE".

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

DONOR WAS ASKED ABOUT SIGNIFICANCE OF SUBJECT AND, AT TIME, SHE DID NOT KNOW HOW HER FATHER CAME TO BE PAINTED AS A NATIVE CHIEF. DONATED MATERIALS WERE COLLECTED DIRECTLY FROM THE LEO SINGER'S MENS WEAR STORE IN NOV. 2006 BY GALT MUSEUM TECH, KEVIN MACLEAN. MACLEAN WAS CALLED TO THE STORE BY THE DONOR AFTER THE PASSING OF HER MOTHER PHYLLIS SINGER. DONOR WAS CLEANING OUT THE STORE IN ORDER TO LEASE. STORE HAD NOT BEEN CLEANED- OUT FOLLOWING THE PASSING OF HER FATHER, LEO SINGER, IN 1997. ON 4 APRIL 2008, MUSEUM TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN VISITED THE HOME OF LEE CUTFORTH AT 2003 7TH AVENUE SOUTH. IN THE HOME’S BASEMENT, MACLEAN NOTED A PAINTING OF A MALE IN A CHIEFTAIN HEADDRESS. THE PORTRAIT WAS REMARKABLY SIMILAR TO ONE OBTAINED DIRECTLY FROM THE RETAIL LOCATION LEO SINGERS’ MENS’ WEAR IN 2006. UPON INVESTIGATION, IT WAS LEARNED BY MACLEAN THAT BOTH THE CUTFORTH WORK AND THE SINGER PORTRAIT WERE PAINTED BY THE SAME ARTIST. CUTFORTH STATED THAT HIS PORTRAIT WAS GIFTED TO HIS GRANDFATHER GEORGE CUTFORTH. HIS GRANDFATHER HAD A LARGE LEASE HOLDING ON THE BLOOD RESERVE FROM 1949-1968. PART OF THAT HOLDING WAS UNDER THE AUSPICES OF CORONATION FARMS. CUTFORTH WAS TOLD THAT HIS GRANDFATHER'S PARTNERS IN CORONATION FARMS WERE LEO SINGER, FRED KOHN, AN ACCOUNTANT, AND ART DORIGATTI, A DEVELOPER OF THE DAY. CUTFORTH DID NOT KNOW THE CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS REGARDING HIS GRANDFATHER LEAVING CORONATION FARMS, OR HOW THAT LINED UP WITH HIS PERSONAL LEASES ON THE REST OF THE RESERVE. CUTFORTH DID REMEMBER, HOWEVER, THAT, “HE (HIS GRANDFATHER) DID TELL (HIM) THAT THE THREE REMAINING PARTNERS IN THE COMPANY CARRIED ON LEASING FOR A WHILE AFTER HE LEFT, BUT GAVE IT UP WITHIN A FEW YEARS. HE WAS, ADDITIONALLY, UNAWARE OF ANY SURVIVING COMPANY DOCUMENTATION, BUT DID COME ACROSS A HERALD ARTICLE THAT SHOWED A PHOTO OF HIS GRANDFATHER’S HARVESTING CREW ON THE RESERVE. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR MORE INFORMATION. *UPDATE* IN 2015 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS. NO INFORMATION WAS FOUND ON THE PAINTING'S ARTIST, JAMES HUNT. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON THIS PORTRAIT'S SUBJECT, LEO SINGER, WAS EXCERPTED FROM RECORD P20060036001-GA. LEO SINGER WAS BORN IN ROMANIA AND IMMIGRATED TO RUMSEY, ALBERTA WITH HIS MOTHER. HIS FATHER WAS KILLED IN WWI. LEO AND HIS MOTHER MOVED TO CALGARY, WHERE HE ATTENDED SCHOOL AND LATER GARBER COLLEGE. IN 1930 HE OPENED A RETAIL CLOTHING STORE IN LETHBRIDGE AND FINALLY MOVED HERE IN 1932. ONE OF THE REASONS HE DECIDED TO MOVE, WAS TO PLAY FOR THE LETHBRIDGE JEWISH ASSOCIATION BASEBALL TEAM. SINGER MET HIS WIFE PHYLLIS IN MONTREAL, WHERE SHE WAS BORN AND RAISED, AND THEY MARRIED IN 1942. HE WAS ACTIVE IN THE LETHBRIDGE COMMUNITY AND WAS INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE U OF L. HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE JEWISH ASSOCIATION, OF WHICH HE WAS PRESIDENT FOR 17 YEARS; THE KIWANIS CLUB, WHICH WAS THE FIRST CLUB IN LETHBRIDGE THAT ALLOWED HIM TO JOIN; RESERVE ARMY, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, UNITED WAY, LEGION, LABOR CLUB, ARMY AND NAVY, ETCETERA. HE VOLUNTEERED MUCH OF HIS TIME WITH DIFFERENT CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS BECAUSE HE FELT THAT THE COMMUNITY HAD TREATED HIM WELL AND HE WANTED TO SHOW HIS GRATITUDE. IN 1930, HE OPENED A STORE ON THE HIGINBOTHAM BLOCK, MOVING THE STORE IN 1940 TO 214 5 ST. S. SINGER'S WAS THE FIRST IN THE CITY TO SPORT A FLASHING NEON SIGN. NAMED LEO SINGER MEN'S AND BOY'S WEAR IN 1955, THE BOY'S CLOTHING ASPECT WAS PHASED OUT IN THE LATE 1980S OR EARLY 90S. SINGER HANDLED BOYS' WEAR PRIMARILY BECAUSE HE WAS THE SOLE DISTRIBUTOR FOR SCOUTS CANADA IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA. MORE THAN 50,000 SCOUTS WERE OUTFITTED BY UNIFORMS SUPPLIED THROUGH SINGER. HE ALSO SUPPLIED THE CITY'S POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS WITH UNIFORMS FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS. SINGER'S MOTTO AND TRADEMARK WERE "IT'S NOT THE SALE THAT COUNTS -- IT'S THE CUSTOMER". BEING RAISED IN CALGARY HE WAS INSPIRED TO ENTER THE RETAIL CLOTHING BUSINESS AS A TEENAGER, WHO SPENT AFTER-SCHOOL HOURS WORKING FOR A CLOTHIER AND LATER ENROLLED IN BUSINESS SCHOOL. SINGER SAID HE FELL IN LOVE WITH LETHBRIDGE DURING A WEEKEND BASEBALL TOURNAMENT AND DECIDED TO STAY. LEO SINGER PASSED AWAY IN JANUARY OF 1997. SEE PERMANENT FILE P20060036001-GA FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Catalogue Number

P20060036008

Acquisition Date

2006-11

Collection

Museum

Less detail