Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

PORTRAIT, JOHN TORRANCE

Date

1957

Materials

OIL

No. Pieces

1

Length

60.0

Width

50.0

Description

PORTRAIT OF HEAD AND SHOULDERS OF MAN. "DON FRACHE-57". ARTISTS SIGNATURE IN LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

JOHN TORRANCE WAS BUSINESS MANAGER OF THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD FROM 1907-1947. THIS PORTRAIT WAS DONE FROM A PHOTOGRAPH. *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHY ON ARTIST DON FRACHE WAS DEVELOPED WITH INFORMATION FROM PERMANENT FILE P19738614000. DON FRACHE CAME TO THE LETHBRIDGE DISTRICT FROM GRAND FORKS, BRITISH COLUMBIA WITH HIS FAMILY IN 1919; IN 1922 THE FRACHE FAMILY FOUNDED THE FRACHE BROTHER’S GREENHOUSES, WHICH BECAME A PROMINENT BUSINESS IN THE AREA FOR MANY YEARS. FRACHE ATTENDED CATHOLIC CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL AND LETHBRIDGE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE IN LETHBRIDGE BEFORE HE WENT ON TO STUDY COMMERCIAL AND FINE ARTS AT THE CHOUINARD ART INSTITUTE IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. HE THEN WORKED IN NEW YORK AND TORONTO AS A FREELANCE ARTIST, WORKING FOR BUSINESSES SUCH AS BOW MAC ENGRAVERS AND PRODUCING WORK FOR THE CANADIAN HOME JOURNAL AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS. HE RETURNED TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA IN 1949. BRIEFLY IN THE EARLY 1950S HE RAN FRACHE BROTHER’S FLOWER SHOP (322 6 ST SOUTH IN LETHBRIDGE), AN OFFSHOOT OF THE FAMILY’S GREENHOUSE BUSINESS. HE LEFT TO BECOME A FULL-TIME ARTIST. FRACHE MAINTAINED ARTIST STUDIOS IN LETHBRIDGE (1951-1968) AND IN COALDALE (1969-1982). IN 1944 DON MARRIED LOUISE MCGEE AND WAS PREDECEASED BY HER IN 1968; HE MARRIED HIS SECOND WIFE CECILLE IN 1980. FRACHE CONTINUED TO LIVE IN COALDALE UNTIL HIS DEATH IN JUNE 1994. FRACHE’S OEUVRE COVERED A WIDE RANGE OF SUBJECT MATTER, ALTHOUGH HIS PRIMARY LOVE WAS LANDSCAPE AND WESTERN HISTORY. HE ALSO PAINTED A SIZEABLE NUMBER OF PORTRAITS. HE WAS PART OF AN EARLY GROUP OF ARTISTS WHO TOOK SERIOUS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TRULY WESTERN BASED/ALBERTA ART PRACTICE. FRACHE’S TALENT AS A PAINTER ALLOWED HIM TO DEPICT CONTEMPORARY ALBERTA AND ALBERTANS AS WELL AS RECREATING EARLY SCENES OF SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THOSE COLLECTORS HUNGRY FOR IMAGES OF WESTERN CANADA. HIS WATERCOLOUTS AND OILS OFFER IMAGES OF THE DIVERSITY OF RANCHLAND, FARMLAND, MOUNTAINS, FOREST, AND PRAIRIE THAT MAKE UP THE WESTERN CANADIAN LANDSCAPE. HIS PALETTE DISPLAYS THE RICH EARTHY COLOURS AND WIDE RANGE OF TONAL VALUES OF THOSE ENVIRONMENTS. FRACHE WAS COMMISSIONED TO PAINT MANY MURALS IN ALBERTA. HIS ‘PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE’, COMPLETED IN 1956, WAS ORIGINALLY HOUSED AT MCCALL FIELD – THE EARLY AIRPORT IN CALGARY. THIS MURAL WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED IN ITS REMOVAL DURING A RENOVATION OF THE AIRPORT FACILITY. A REPLICA, PAINTED BY FRACHE IN THE LATE 1970S/EARLY 1980S, NOW HANGS IN THE CALGARY AIRPORT AT DEPARTURE GATE 25A. HIS SECOND MURAL WAS COMMISSIONED FOR THE AQUACOURT GOVERNMENT POOL AT RADIUM HOT SPRINGS, AND HIS ‘KOOTENAI BROWN’ MURAL IS IN THE HERITAGE CENTRE IN WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON THIS PORTRAIT'S SUBJECT, JOHN TORRANCE, WAS FOUND IN LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES DETAILING HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PAPER AND HIS OBITUARY. JOHN TORRANCE WAS BORN IN 1880 IN ONTARIO, AND CAME WEST TO EDMONTON SHORTLY AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY. HE JOINED W.A. BUCHANAN AND THE STAFF AT THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD IN 1907, TEN DAYS BEFORE IT WAS DEBUTED AS A DAILY PAPER. HE WORKED AS THE BUSINESS MANAGER OF THE HERALD UNTIL HIS RETIRMENT IN 1947, AND WAS ACTIVE AS A MEMBER OF THE FIRST UNITED CHURCH AND THE ROTARY CLUB. AFTER HIS RETIREMENT, TORRANCE MOVED BACK TO ONTARIO TO LIVE WITH HIS SISTER, AND PASSED AWAY THERE ON JANUARY 22, 1968. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR HARDCOPY OF JOHN TORRANCE'S OBITUARY.

Catalogue Number

P19738615000

Acquisition Date

1973-06

Collection

Museum

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