User:HeatherBlack/West End Gallery

West End Gallery was founded in 1948 by Quebec’s first woman gallerist, Rose Milman, who fostered the careers of artists within the Group of Seven, the Beaver Hall Group, and the Jewish Painters of Montreal. The oldest family-run fine art gallery in Canada, daughter-in-law Florence Millman and grandson Micheal Millman continued the tradition of promoting Canadian Art. First located in downtown Montreal, in 1964 the gallery relocated to the west-central suburb of Westmount, where, after fifty years, it closed its doors. The gallery continues to exist as an online reseller of Canadian Art created from 1930 to 1980.

Rose Millman and the Gallery 1941 - 1960
In 1941 amateur painter Rose Millman (1890-1960) opened Dominion Gallery of Fine Art at Sherbrooke Street in downtown Montreal. Specializing in contemporary Canadian art, the gallery held a solo exhibition of works by Goodridge Roberts in 1943. The following year, Rose Millman, assisted by young emigre Max Stern - later known for returning Nazi art to its rightful owners - featured a solo show of Canadian expressionist Emily Carr. In 1947 Rose Millman sold the gallery to managing director Max Stern. In 1948 she opened up West End Gallery in the Prince of Wales Terrace on Sherbrooke Street.

A strong supporter of woman artists, in 1949 Rose Millman organized a group exhibition of Canadian Women Artists including Emily Carr, Marian Scott, and Beaver Hall artists Anne Savage, Prudence Heward, Mabel Lockerby, Sarah Robertson and Ethel Heath, many of whom participated in the National Gallery of Canada's New York exhibition of Canadian Women Artists the following year. As Montreal was the new home for many Jewish emigres form Eastern Europe, Rose Millman also fostered the careers of artists Alexander Bercovitch, Eric Goldberg, Ernst Neumann, Louis Muhlstock, and Sam Borenstein who captured the social injustices of the 1930s and 40s. When the Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA) moved from Montreal’s downtown core, West End Gallery served as a meeting place for these artists, known collectively for their "original and innovative art" as the Jewish Painters of Montreal. In 1960 Rose Millman died and daughter-in-law Florence Millman took over the gallery.

Florence Millman and the Gallery 1964 - 2011
In 1964 Florence Millman (1920-2010) moved the gallery to 1358 Greene Avenue in Westmount where she continued to represent many of the Jewish Painters of Montreal including second-generation members, Moses "Moe" Reinblatt, Harry Mayerovitch, Ghitta Caiserman-Roth, Sylvia Ary, and Rita Briansky. West End Gallery's first group show that same year included paintings by Caisserman-Roth and Briansky, as well as by Madeleine Boyer and Louise Carrier. When interviewed by of the Gazette, Florence Millman reiterated the gallery's commitment to contemporary Canadian art. In 1967 the gallery mounted a solo exhibit of Ralph Burton which brought Group of Seven artists A. Y. Jackson and Arthur Lismer and Beaver Hall artist Ann Savage together for the last time. Florence Millman also worked closely with curator Esther Trepannier on the Jewish Painters and Modernity exhibition at the Saidye Bronfman Centre in Montreal. Other contemporary artists, painter Miyuki Tanobe and sculptor Esther Wertheimer were added to the gallery’s roster. In 2011 at the time of her death, Florence Millman was described as Westmount’s “Grand Dame of Art”.

Michael Millman and the Gallery 1987 -
In 1987 Florence’s son Michael Millman (1954) joined the gallery and built up the gallery's reputation as a reseller of mid-century Canadian art including works by Jean-Paul Lemieux and Riopelle. Continuing to feature prominently the Jewish Painters of Montreal, in 2004 a solo exhibitions were held of Jack Beder was reviewed in the Montreal Gazette. In 2008 Florence and Michel Millman were instrumental in securing funding for the travelling exhibition Jewish Painter of Montreal: Witnesses to their Time, mounted by the Musee National des Beauz-arts du Quebec. Following Flornce's death Michael Millman continued to operate in gallery until the sale of the building in August 2015, when West End Gallery became an online entity.

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OLD TEXT OLD TEXT today the Montreal gallery is a prominent reseller of Canadian art from 1930 to 1970.

In 1941, founder Rose Millman (1890-1960) opened the Dominion Gallery of Fine Art in Montreal. In 1943, Millman with managing director Max Stern held a solo exhibition of works by Goodridge Roberts, followed by an solo show of works by Emily Carr in 1944. In 1947 Millman sold the gallery to Stern and, in 1938, opened West End Gallery on Sherbrooke Street’s Prince of Wales Terrace.

The Group of Seven and their Contemporaries
A strong supporter of women artists, in 1949, Milman mounted a group exhibition "Canadian Women Painters" with works by Emily Carr, Marian Scott, and members of the Beaver Hall Group – Anne Savage, Prudence Heward, Mabel Lockerby, Sarah Robertson and Ethel Seath. Other exhibitions included Group of Seven painters ........ On Rose Millman’s death in 1960, daughter-in-law Florence Millman (?1920-2011) took over the business, and reopened the gallery at its present location on Greene Avenue in Westmount.

The first Greene-Avenue exhibition also featured woman artists including Madeleine Boyer, Louise Carrier, Rita Briansky, and Ghitta Caiserman-Roth.

In 1971 Florence Millman reiterated the gallery's commitment to Canadian artists. Joined by her son Michael in 198?, journalist Marilynn Vanderstaay described Florance Millman at the time of her death as, “Westmount’s grand dame of the arts”.

Montreal Jewish Artists
From the 1940s on the gallery represented many artists from Montreal’s Jewish community, some like Louis Muhlstock and ?Rita Briansky for over 60 years. These artists included: Eric Goldberg of the Eastern School, abstract landscape painter Sam Borenstein, as well as, Sylvia Ary, Jack Beder, Alexander Bercovitch, Ghitta Caiserman-Roth, Herman Heimlich, Harry Mayerovitch, Ernst Neumann and Moe Reinblatt. Director of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Esther Trépanier awknowleged the gallery’s role in promoting these artists who, in the 1930s and 40s, were “unique witnesses to their time ,... “portraying it through original, innovative art”.

The gallery also worked closely with Trépanier who curated the 1980 and 1987 exhibits “Jewish Painters and. Modernity”. And in 2008 Michael Millman was instrumental in securing the initial funding for exhibition "Jewish Painters of Montreal: Witnesses of Their Time, 1930-1948” at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and the McCord Museum (Montreal)

More recently, the gallery was instrumental in launching the careers of Canadians Lynda Schneider-Granatstein and Nory Steiger. The gallery also represents artists ?Miyuki Tanobe

Exhibitons of note:

 * 1949 "Canadian Women Painters" Exhibition with works by Emily Carr, Marian Scott, and members of the Beaver Hall Group – Anne Savage, Prudence Heward, Mabel Lockerby, Sarah Robertson and Ethel Seath.
 * 1966 Exhibition of woman artists included Madeleine Boyer, Louise Carrier, Rita Briansky, and Ghitta Caiserman-Roth.
 * 2006 Jack Beder Exhibition: Reviewer Henry Lehmann of The Gazette wrote “Jack Beder was, and arguably still is, an artist's artist” ... “the small Montreal buildings that are often Beder's subject matter of choice come through with a force that is both architectural and broodingly meditative.”
 * 2008 Jewish Artists aligned with Esther Trépanier's book launch of Jewish Painters of Montreal – Witnesses of their Time, 1930-1948'
 * 2009 "Jewish Artists Selected Works 1935 to 1980"