Meet Patricia Gostick at McClelland Barclay book signing and vintage jewellery sale June 3, 2023

Can you imagine being in the Great Hall of the Arts & Letters Club while Group of Seven painter Arthur Lismer was sketching other club members? Lismer was often there between 1922 and 1946 along with notable artists, writers, musicians, architects, and supporters of the arts. Founded as a private club in 1908, the Arts & Letters Club continues today as a leading cultural institution in Toronto.

You are invited to "Be Dazzled" Saturday, June 3

The Arts & Letters Club hosts all kinds of events, and, I'm inviting you to a special event in this very place on Saturday, June 3!

What: "Be Dazzled" vintage costume jewellery show & sale
When: Saturday, June 3, 2023 10 am - 4 pm
Where: Arts & Letters Club, Great Hall, 14 Elm St, Toronto
Who: Patricia Gostick, author of the illustrated McClelland Barclay biography, along with 13 other members of the Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club
Cost:  FREE...more event info: NowPlayingToronto.com

Come for the wonderful historical ambience of the Great Hall while you shop the outstanding collections from a select group of Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club members. Although the TVCJC has held many vintage costume jewellery shows over the years, this will be the first time a show will be at the Arts & Letters Club.

After going so long without an in-person event, I'm thrilled to be able to showcase my published illustrated biography of the artist: McClelland Barclay: Painter of Beautiful Women and More, along with a selection of McClelland Barclay vintage costume jewellery, for sale at the Great Hall.

Patricia Gostick, founder of Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club to sign books

In much more recent times than the Arts & Letters Club, I founded the Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club in 2005. The goal of our club is similar: to gather together a group of like-minded people to share their knowledge and appreciation of the decorative art of costume jewellery. Meeting regularly, we discuss, debate, and learn from each other.

I'd like to think that McClelland Barclay himself would have been an active member of the Arts & Letters Club, had he lived in Toronto. I can say that because my book research uncovered records that he was an active member of similar clubs in the 1920s and 30s, such as the Artist Guild and the Art Director's Club of New York.

The art of preserving history

The 1891 cornerstone of St. George's Hall is the same year as McClelland Barclay's birth, and has been the home of the Arts & Letters Club since 1920. The Club later purchased the building, and it has been designated as a building of National Historic Significance by the Government of Canada, a significant historical preservation feat in our modern times.

When I set out to write the biography of the artist McClelland Barclay (1891-1943), it was partially to preserve an historical record of his extensive and diverse body of work: oil paintings, drawings, sculpture, metal works, commercial and editorial illustration. But I began with collecting his stunning costume jewellery made between 1938-1942.

Along the way, I discovered new information about Rice-Weiner & Company, the maker of his jewellery, which is published for the first time in my book. I also learned much more about Mac as a person, a lover, and U.S. naval officer. All of this commanded me to tell the compelling but tragically shortened life story in the first illustrated biography of this artist.

I can't wait to showcase my book, sign copies if you like, and offer a selected collection of McClelland Barclay costume jewellery in such a storied place. Being among other wonderful vintage costume jewellery dealers is my idea of a wonderful Saturday in June!

McClelland Barclay jewellery at special sale prices

To make this one-day event even more exciting, I will be offering a selection of vintage McClelland Barclay signed costume jewellery at special show prices.

Here is a sneak peak at some of the McClelland Barclay Art Deco and Art Moderne pieces you will be able to see and purchase at the Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club event at the Arts & Letters Club:

Left: McCLELLAND BARCLAY Art Deco gold-plated brooch with yellow and clear rhinestones
Middle: McCLELLAND BARCLAY Sterling Silver Repoussé Art Deco Dove Brooch, with back
Right: McCLELLAND BARCLAY Art Moderne Gold Plated with Multi-Colored Navettes Swirl Brooch

Mark your calendars. Help us to celebrate this event at such an historic and beautiful location. I can't wait to see you there!