Stanley C. Riviere
Untitled Autumn Landscape
Stanley C. Riviere
Oil on canvas
Exhibited January 11–24, 1951
This autumn landscape by Stanley C. Riviere was exhibited in January 1951 as part of They Paint for Recreation, a juried exhibition held during the Simpson’s Homemakers’ Show. A printed exhibition label remains affixed to the back of the work, identifying the artist, medium, exhibition title, catalogue number, and original value of $25.00.
The painting depicts a rural road winding through a stand of autumn trees, with a fence line and distant building anchoring the landscape. Rendered in warm ochres, muted greens, and soft blues, the composition balances movement and stillness, drawing the viewer forward along the path while holding them in the quiet of the season. The brushwork is confident and economical, suggesting an artist comfortable with observation and structure rather than overt stylization.
What the object itself tells us (hard facts)
1. The exhibition label (this is gold)
The label on the back is from Simpson’s Department Store and reads (key points):
Artist: Stanley C. Riviere
Address: Sunnybrook (likely Sunnybrook Hospital area / Toronto, at the time)
Medium: Oil (clearly checked)
Value: $25.00
Exhibition:
“They Paint for Recreation”
Simpson’s Homemakers’ Show
January 11–24, 1951Catalog number: 71
Hand-signed by a Simpson’s Interior Decorating Department representative
This places the work firmly and unambiguously in 1951, exhibited publicly, and officially catalogued.
This is not a casual hobby painting hanging in a basement — it was selected, priced, and shown in a major Canadian department store exhibition.
2. The painting itself
Subject: Autumn rural landscape — winding dirt road, fence, farmhouse/church-like structure, deciduous trees in fall colour
Style: Representational, competent, confident brushwork
Palette: Ochres, golds, muted greens, soft blues — very consistent with Canadian mid-century amateur and semi-professional landscape traditions
Framing: Period-appropriate frame, likely original or early
Everything visually aligns with a late-1940s / early-1950s Canadian exhibition context.
Who was Stanley C. Riviere?
Based on the found obituary notices and the painting label:
Stanley C. Riviere
Died October 11, 2006, age 80
Married Mary Louise Riviere (née Deming) in 1973
Lived in multiple regions: Ontario → Yellowknife, NWT → Oxford Mills, Ontario
Not described professionally as an artist — which aligns perfectly with the exhibition title “They Paint for Recreation”
This suggests:
He was an amateur or recreational painter, but one whose work was good enough to be publicly exhibited.
He was active as a painter at least as early as 1951, meaning he was likely born in the 1920s or earlier.
The obituary for Mary Louise Riviere confirms Stanley predeceased her and supports the same family timeline. His own death notice reinforces identity and family continuity.
Why this painting matters (collector context)
1. It is securely dated and contextualized
So many works like this float loose — unsigned, undated, anonymous.
This one is anchored to an exact exhibition, date, and institution.
That is rare.
2. It represents a specific cultural moment
Postwar Canada saw a huge rise in:
Adult education
Leisure painting
Community exhibitions
Department stores as cultural hubs
Simpson’s wasn’t just selling sofas — it was shaping taste, encouraging creativity, and legitimizing everyday cultural production.
This painting is evidence of that.
Paintings like this matter because they document who was allowed — and encouraged — to make art in a particular moment in time.
In postwar Canada, department stores such as Simpson’s played an unexpected cultural role. Beyond retail, they functioned as community hubs, hosting exhibitions that validated creative work made outside academies and galleries. The Homemakers’ Show context is particularly telling. Art was positioned alongside interiors, domestic design, and everyday aesthetics — reinforcing the idea that visual culture belonged in the home, not only in museums.
Mid-century department store exhibitions were a distinctive feature of Canadian cultural life in the 1940s and 1950s. Shows like They Paint for Recreation reflected a growing belief that creativity was not reserved for professionals, but was a meaningful part of domestic, social, and civic life.
Participants were often:
Hobby painters
Evening art students
Working professionals with creative practices
Community members encouraged to submit work through clubs or local programs
They Paint for Recreation was not about discovering the next great master; it was about acknowledging that art belonged in everyday life.
This painting is evidence of that belief.
Stanley C. Riviere’s work was not hidden in a private home or painted solely for personal pleasure. It was entered into a public exhibition, assigned a catalogue number, given a monetary value, and presented to an audience. That process conferred legitimacy — not just on the artwork, but on the act of making it.
Back of Untitled Autumn Landscape by Stanley C. Riviere
Label from Untitled Autumn Landscape by Stanley C. Riviere
