Philip Surrey
Galerie Walter KlinkhoffIntroduction
Philip Surrey, born in Calgary in 1910 and making Montreal home at age 27, is one of the foremost Canadian urban painters of the 20th Century. Although Montreal is the venue for most of Surrey’s painting, even a short visit to our exhibition suggests that there are other equally important elements in addition to location at play, be they physiological or of compositional design, which serve to create the singular temperament in Surrey’s finest works. We invite you to make these discoveries with us.
It is a great pleasure to host this celebration of Philip Surrey’s career. Surrey is an artist for whom we have always had enormous respect but who, unfortunately, we did not represent as dealers. He was well served by others. Since his passing 14 years ago no one has collected a body of his work for study. We gladly accept the challenge with the hope that this important show will serve as a catalyst for a more comprehensive survey by one of our museums or university art galleries.
We are pleased to have the literary skill of Terry Rigelhof, a well-known Montreal author and former neighbour of Philip Surrey who has penned the essay accompanying this exhibition. We also acknowledge the endorsement and encouragement of the estate of Philip Surrey represented by his nephew, Mr. Nick Simpson. Finally, we extend our gratitude to the lenders to this exhibition, whose generosity make it possible.
Alan, Eric, and Gertrude Klinkhoff
September, 2004
