Fonds RC0158 - George Stephen Vickers fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

George Stephen Vickers fonds

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Fonds

Reference code

RC0158

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1912-[2011] (Creation)

Physical description area

Physical description

50 cm of textual records
2 compact discs

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1913-1993)

Biographical history

George Stephen Vickers, was born on 19 December 1913 in St. Catharines, Ontario, the son of William Vickers and Jane E. Vickers (nee Rooke). After attending St. Catharines Collegiate Institute, he entered McMaster University and took his B.A. (Hons.) in English and History in the spring of 1936. While at McMaster, he also took a few courses in Fine Art, where he met Elizabeth Smith. In the fall of 1937 he entered the graduate program in Fine Art at Harvard University. In the summer of 1939, he sailed to Europe to begin his doctoral studies but had to return with the outbreak of World War II. On 3 June 1940, he married Elizabeth Smith, and until 1942, they lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where their daughter, Hannah, was born. They would have a son, Daniel, in 1952.

In 1942, they returned to Canada, where Stephen became a machinist in Hamilton and then joined the Canadian Signal Corps. Between 1943 and 1945, he served as a corporal at Camp Vimy in Barriefield, Ontario, mainly as an instructor. At the war’s end he was discharged, and he returned with his wife and daughter to complete his Ph.D. at Harvard. In 1946, however, he was offered a permanent position in Fine Art at the University of Toronto. He dedicated his career to teaching – both graduate and undergraduate – and to building the Fine Art Department at Toronto. He also played a role in designing the first secondary school program in art history for the province of Ontario and was the primary author of Art and Man (1964), the first high school textbook in art history published in Canada. He retired in 1980. On 1 November 1993 he was struck by a car near his home. Two days later he died of a massive coronary at St. Michael’s Hospital.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The fonds consists primarily of Stephen’s correspondence with Elizabeth. There are a few letters from her to him and additional letters with other correspondents. There is also some of his and Elizabeth's academic research and writing, as well as documents from their lives. There is a useful biography of key people written by Daniel Vickers that will provide context for the documents. The fonds is arranged in three series: correspondence; writings; and other documents.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

The first accrual (34-2011) was acquired from Daniel Vickers and Hannah (Vickers) Fournier in 2011. The second accrual (2013-028) was donated by Daniel Vickers in July 2013.

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Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

Access restrictions: File 25 in Box 4 has been restricted until 1 January 2022 at the request of the donor.

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Accruals

No further accruals expected.

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Description record identifier

RC0158

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