In summer 2023, the Archives & Special Collections were offered this untitled watercolour portrait, courtesy of a generous donor named Harry Arnold, as an addition to our existing Mary Filer collection (established in 2020.) The only catch? The painting was located in Manchester, England. So with the help of former U of R Associate Professor of Visual Arts Intermedia, Dr Rachelle Viader Knowles, the piece made its way to Canada by plane to Toronto, and then to Regina via cross-country road trip. We’re thrilled to include this work in the Mary Filer Collection.

The painting also includes some collage elements sourced from newspaper clippings. It’s currently unknown who the portrait is of, despite valiant attempts by Archives staff to discover the subject’s identity.

Harry Arnold details the history of the painting: “It was with a load of miscellaneous artworks that my mother had collected. She was a big thrifter whilst living in Suffolk, England. I just presumed that’s where it had come from. However, my mother and father met and lived in Manhattan until having my sister and me (1964 and 1967 respectively). We then all moved to London in 1968. I’m not sure how that fits in with Mary’s timeline. My father was in publishing and he and my mother did buy a number of artworks when in NYC.”