| "You’d be surprised by what’s behind closed doors in Europe," says Ian Loch of Calgary’s newly opened branch of Winnipeg’s venerable Loch Gallery. "Canadian historical art is very popular in Europe."
Since 1972, Loch Gallery in Winnipeg, and later in Toronto, has specialized in historical and contemporary art, primarily Canadian. They have now opened a new gallery here in Calgary. Since the beginning, Loch Gallery has been a traditional-based gallery, catering to collectors of 19th and 20th century realism and photo-realist paintings and sculpture.
Ian Loch, the middle son of the family that founded and continues to run Loch Gallery, sees this as a "wait and see" opportunity in Calgary. "We have only been open for four weeks but we are beginning to get the collectors. The gallery is very well known out east, so there is some word of mouth of our opening here, but basically we are starting from scratch."
The Loch Gallery has always been a family business. Ian Loch’s father, David Loch, came to Winnipeg from Scotland and started out at Eaton’s as a suit salesman. He went on to open his own framing shop that evolved into a gallery that has become very prominent in Canada’s art scene. Specializing in paintings and sculptures of naturalism, pastorals, realism and historical works, the Loch Gallery carries paintings from the Group of Seven, Emily Carr, Cornelius Krieghoff and sculptures by artists such as Peter Sawatzky.
"For the most part, we have cultivated our own stable of artists, whose works we carry," says Loch. "Each one offers something new. Some are established artists, and some have been right out of university."
The pieces in Loch Gallery are very much from the school of realism. Most of the oils are still life studies of light and shadow. Peter Sawatzky’s sculptures in the gallery are wildlife bronzes. Loch Gallery’s stable of artists are very well established in the art world – Ivan Eyre, Brian Jones, Leon Belsky and Ciba Karisik are all world famous for their works that are collected avidly across North America. Loch Gallery is also known for presenting historical works, including an upcoming Cornelius Krieghoff show on October 21. Krieghoff was a 19th century Dutch-born painter of the simple pastoral life and times of Quebec and Canada. His works are sought after by collectors and museums around the world and can command very high prices.
For the most part, Ian Loch is confident that Loch Gallery will be successful in Calgary. "We have wanted to bring more historical art to Calgary," he says. "The historical works speak for themselves – our contemporary art will be more difficult." As a way of introducing the new gallery to Calgary collectors, Loch Gallery will be taking part in this year’s annual Art Walk, September 16th and 17th.
Calgary has the deep pockets necessary for collecting. Loch Gallery has been in the business of art dealing for collectors long enough to carry the very best and very expensive. So bring the platinum – the Krieghoff hanging in Ian Loch’s office is a cool $40,000. |
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