The University of Manitoba campuses are located on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Ojibwe-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. More
Title: Faye Settler fonds.
Dates: 1863, 1960-2004.
Extent: 0.5 m of textual records.
Biographical sketch: Faye Settler was born on December 13, 1916 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Growing up, she lived in Southey, Saskatchewan, Plum Coulee and Teulon, Manitoba, but moved back to Winnipeg with her family in 1928. Settler completed her formal education at St. John’s Technical High School. She married Bert Settler in 1938. In 1948, Faye Settler and her mother, Maggie Brownstone, opened a small antique store named the Curiosity Shop in their neighbourhood. By the mid-1950s, they moved the Curiosity Shop to 313 Smith Street in downtown Winnipeg. The Upstairs Gallery opened in 1966 as an extension of the Curiosity Shop and exhibited the work of the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. Shortly after its opening, the Upstairs Gallery introduced a regular schedule of exhibitions by both local and national contemporary artists. In 1967, the Curiosity Shop became a Charter Member of the Canadian Antique Dealers Association and, in 1971, Upstairs Gallery was invited to join the Professional Art Dealers Association of Canada (now the Art Dealers Association of Canada.) As a result of the success and growth of both the Upstairs Gallery and the Curiosity Shop, Settler relocated to a larger space at 266 Edmonton Street. Stemming from Faye Settler’s interest in Inuit art, the Upstairs Gallery became well-known for its Inuit sculpture and tapestry exhibitions and Settler’s unique and personal relationship with Baker Lake artists. In 2001, Faye Settler made a gift to the Winnipeg Art Gallery of the Faye and Bert Settler Inuit Collection. In 2003, Settler received the Manitoba Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award as well as the Art Dealers Association of Canada Award for Lifetime Achievement. Faye Settler passed away on January 21, 2004. The Upstairs Gallery closed on March 1, 2005.
Custodial history: The fonds was donated to University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections by Oliver Botar in 2005.
Scope and content: The fonds consists of exhibition notices and invitations related to art exhibitions and sales at Upstairs Gallery, Gallery 1.1.1., and a number of other Winnipeg-based galleries. A number of exhibition notices for other Canadian galleries are also included. Also included is a first edition copy of William Howard Russell’s My Diary: North and South, printed in 1863. The fonds consists of the following three series: Upstairs Gallery, Winnipeg galleries, and Canadian galleries.
Source of supplied title: Title based on provenance of fonds.
Separated material: My Diary: North and South has been removed and is now housed in the Archives' Rare Book Room.
Finding aid: An on-line finding aid is available at the link below: