Mr. Walter Klinkhoff
Originally an engineer, Walter entered Canada's nascent commercial art scene in 1949, when as a favour to a family friend in Austria, Walter agreed to try to sell some of the gentleman's paintings. Walter quickly found a buyer for the works and soon, entranced by his sojourn into the art world, he left his job at the firm of Canadian Liquid Air, to open his own art gallery. In 1959,Walter Klinkhoff Gallery moved to its current location on Montreal's fabled Sherbrooke street where it has endured to become one of Canada's most renowned galleries.
Over the years Walter Klinkhoff played a significant role in influencing collectors and bringing new artists to the marketplace. He nurtured and befriended some of Canada's most renowned artists; dealing in the works of artists such as, Arthur Lismer, A.Y. Jackson and Clarence Gagnon when their canvases would sell for no more than $200. Walter constantly strove to advance appreciation and awareness for Canadian arts. He published several important exhibition catalogues and established the gallery's well known education weeks in which Walter Klinkhoff Gallery hosts an annual non-selling retrospective show.
Walter was respected by artists and collectors alike for his integrity and for his tireless promotion of Canadian art both at home and abroad. He was a founding member, and long-serving board member, of the Art Dealers Association of Canada. Walter's passion was art, a passion shared by his wife Gertrude, and inherited by his two sons Alan and Eric. Today the gallery, under his family's careful guidance continues Walter's fervent commitment to Canadian historical and contemporary art.
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Originally an engineer, Walter entered Canada's nascent commercial art scene in 1949, when as a favour to a family friend in Austria, Walter agreed to try to sell some of the gentleman's paintings. Walter quickly found a buyer for the works and soon, entranced by his sojourn into the art world, he left his job at the firm of Canadian Liquid Air, to open his own art gallery. In 1959,Walter Klinkhoff Gallery moved to its current location on Montreal's fabled Sherbrooke street where it has endured to become one of Canada's most renowned galleries.
Over the years Walter Klinkhoff played a significant role in influencing collectors and bringing new artists to the marketplace. He nurtured and befriended some of Canada's most renowned artists; dealing in the works of artists such as, Arthur Lismer, A.Y. Jackson and Clarence Gagnon when their canvases would sell for no more than $200. Walter constantly strove to advance appreciation and awareness for Canadian arts. He published several important exhibition catalogues and established the gallery's well known education weeks in which Walter Klinkhoff Gallery hosts an annual non-selling retrospective show.
Walter was respected by artists and collectors alike for his integrity and for his tireless promotion of Canadian art both at home and abroad. He was a founding member, and long-serving board member, of the Art Dealers Association of Canada. Walter's passion was art, a passion shared by his wife Gertrude, and inherited by his two sons Alan and Eric. Today the gallery, under his family's careful guidance continues Walter's fervent commitment to Canadian historical and contemporary art.
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