“Colours and Craftsmanship: The Art of Interior Décor” opened at Macdonell-Williamson House on August 5. The selection of early 20th-century artifacts was first owned by Walter Thomas Caven of Oakville, Ontario, house painter and carpenter, whose grand-daughter lives in Rigaud, Québec.

The tools of Walter’s trades form the backbone of the display, and the exhibit weaves his story within the wider tale of wallpapers, paint, and carpentry.  The exhibit portrays the era and the conditions that Walter and many thousands of working-class craftspeople lived through, serving wealthier families in communities throughout Ontario.

To support his young family of five, Walter worked mostly on Oakville’s Lakeshore Drive.  According to the 1921 census, he earned $800 a year. He rode to work on a bicycle, carrying paint cans, ladder, and other supplies like a long wallpaper ruler on his bike, saving what he could put aside to buy a truck.

Walter’s tool collection was inherited by his granddaughters, Tasha and Sandra Stephenson, who made these tools and a range of other collections available for viewing at several museums across Ontario and Québec.  The “Colour and Craftsmanship/ La couleur et l’art du décor intérieur” collection found its way to a room in Macdonell-Williamson House badly in need of a coat of paint!   When installing the information posters, small scraps of original wallpaper were discovered on the walls.  The room is preserved by Ontario Heritage Trust as “ruins” to show how the house is made.

What to expect in the exhibit:

  • A variety of objects relating to carpentry, cutting, and sharpening.
  • Measurement tools and early 20th-century magazines centered on interior décor.
  • An old ladder like Walter’s, decorated with period paint cans, aprons and baskets.
  • A guessing game on the uses of brushes
  • A selection of historic wallpaper designs, some made in Canada

Friends of Macdonell-Williamson House, and an intern from University of Toronto Museum and Library Studies, Devin de Silva helped make this project a reality.

“Colours and Craftsmanship” is open at Macdonell-Williamson House (25 Rue Des Outaouais, Pointe-Fortune) for August 2023 . General admissions for Macdonell-Williamson House: $3, free for children under 12. For more details about the exhibit, please visit mw-house.ca or call (613) 676-2228.