Faye Settler fonds: Mss 212 (A2005-46)

Inventory prepared by Michelle Rydz
University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(2006)

Finding aid encoded by Vladimira Zvonik (2007)
Finding aid written in English.

Collection Summary

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Biography of Faye Settler

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.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

This 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. This fonds consists of the series: Upstairs Gallery; Winnipeg Galleries; Canadian Galleries.

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Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is arranged into three series:

• 1. Upstairs Gallery
• 2. Winnipeg Galleries
• 3. Canadian Galleries

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Restrictions on Access

No restrictions on access.

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Custodial History

Fonds was donated to the Archives by Oliver Botar in 2005.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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