B.C. Binning fonds

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Part of

• Fonds: B.C. Binning fonds, 1941-1963

People

• B.C. Binning (archive creator)

Title

B.C. Binning fonds

Dates of creation

1941-1963

Form

• archives

Level of archival description

Fonds

Extent and Medium

• 51 drawings (including 32 reprographic copies)
• 42 photographs
• 3 panels

Scope and Content

The B.C. Binning fonds documents the activities of artist B.C. Binning and the links between his art and architecture. It is made up of the only personal documents preserved by the artist's family at the time of the acquisition. Material in the fonds was produced between 1941 and 1963.

The fonds contains drawings, reprographic copies, photographs and coloured test panels related to five projects, among others, the design of Binning's residence in West Vancouver, British Columbia (with architects Charles Edward Pratt and Robert Alexander Dean Berwick) and the mural for the B.C. Electric Head Office in Vancouver.

Reference Number

AP069

Arrangement

The B.C. Binning fonds is arranged in a single series: AP069 Projects.

Biographical notes

Bertram Charles Binning (B.C. Binning) was born in 1909 in Medicine Hat, Alberta. He graduated in 1932 from the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Art (later the Vancouver School of Art) in Vancouver, British Columbia, and also studied at the Art Students League in New York City, New York. In 1939, while in London, England, he studied with Amédée Ozenfant, former associate of Le Corbusier, and with sculptor Henry Moore.

In 1944 Binning, with Fred Amess, founded the Art in Living Group in Vancouver. Additionally Binning collaborated in the foundation of the Department of Architecture and Planning at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1956, and was the director of the UBC Fine Art Gallery. He retired in 1973, and died in 1976 in Vancouver.

Conditions governing access

• Access by appointment only.

Conditions governing reproduction

• Contact the CCA for copyright information and permission to reproduce (reproductions@cca.qc.ca).

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

• Gift of Jessie Binning in 1997

Custodial history

The B.C. Binning fonds was donated to the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) by Jessie Binning, the widow of the artist, in 1996. It was acquired for the exhibition "The New Spirit: Modern Architecture in Vancouver 1938-1963". The exhibition was organized by the CCA and presented at the CCA in 1997, the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1997-1998, and the Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, in 1998.

Archivist's note

• The B.C. Binning fonds was originally processed and described by Mourade Dièye Gueye in 1997. In 2008, the original finding aid was modified, by Alexis Lenk, in order to conform to updated documentation procedures. This included the edition and translation of texts by written Dièye Gueye. As part of data cleanup related to AMS migration in 2022, Catherine Jacob edited the online finding aid to ensure compliance with the most recent CCA standards.

Credit line

When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation
B.C. Binning fonds
Collection Centre Canadien d'Architecture/
Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal;
Don de Jessie Binning/
Gift of Jessie Binning
When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line.

Language of material

Documents are in English.