A collection is an assembly of items such as writings, images, photographs, plans, that are systematically ordered and accessible. LACF funded collections record, communicate and reveal different dimensions of landscape and landscape architecture. LACF collections keep a record for the future.
#1. The Frances McLeod Blue Collection / Fund
Source unknown_ Imagined CSLA meeting c. 1940
The Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation established the Frances McLeod Blue Collection in 2007 with a grant of $5,000.00 and a commitment for subsequent annual grants of $2,500.00. This contribution is directed to the ongoing support of the collections, including digitization projects and development of a website to make the collection easily accessible.
The collection, within the Archival & Special Collections at the University of Guelph Library, was established in recognition of Frances Blue, (1914-1992) who served the profession as a dedicated volunteer and official recorder of CSLA history for over 40 years. In 1992, her estate donated a generous bequest of $225,000 to the LACF.
The Frances McLeod Blue Fund supports a collection that includes her photographs, drawings and watercolours. Also included are historical records from other landscape architects and firms that are representative of her era (1920 to 1975). The purpose of the Frances McLeod Blue Fund is to support the Frances McLeod Blue Collection; purchase landscape architecture resources; digitize drawings and other materials; and process materials of historical relevance to Canadian landscape architecture in general.
Who was Frances Blue?
Frances McLeod Blue (1914-1992) was one of Canada’s first female landscape architects. A Torontonian by birth, she was educated at Havergal College in Toronto, le Collège féminine de Bouffemont near Paris, and the Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture in Groton, Massachusetts, where she graduated in 1937. Frances became a full member of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) in 1939 and served in varying capacities between 1941 and 1966. In 1966, she was inducted into the College of Fellows for her extensive and valuable service to the Society. In subsequent years Frances served as the official recorder of CSLA history. Considering her profound dedication to landscape architecture, perhaps it was not surprising that even after her death in 1992, our profession greatly benefited from her generosity. Between 1992 and 2003, her estate donated a bequest of $225,000 to the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation (LACF) and provided a solid foundation for grants in support of research, scholarship and communication.
#2. Canadian Landscape Portfolio / CLP-PPC
Jean Landry, FCSLA
The Canadian Landscape Portfolio - Portfolio des Paysages Canadiens (CLP-PPC), is a project that received support through the LACF Grants program and is a described as a 3 part series of compiled photographic collections and selections that illustrate the diversity of Canada’s landscapes as interpreted though through the camera lens and written descriptions of CSLA members. The CLP has also been designed as a participatory tool and ultimately a visual complement to the Canadian Landscape Charter with the intent that these collections ultimately illustrate why “landscapes” are so vital to us all.
i) A first edition: Significant Landscapes
Near Jasper,2016_ W.Graham
CLP part 1 focused on building a set of ten (10) Collections - one per component association plus one for the CSLA - representing significant landscapes that shape our everyday lives in some way. These collections portrayed “personal perspectives and understandings” of the landscapes we live in.
ii) The second edition: Designed Landscapes
photo: CLP-PPC_ Atlantic Provinces Selection_ Breezeway, submitted by Virginia Burt
CLP part 2 edition explore “designed” landscapes and illustrate how (skillfully) designed landscapes enhance our daily experiences and ultimately our quality of life. Again, these selected images are to be seen as personal perspectives by Canadian landscape architects.
iii) Dreamed Landscapes
CLP part 3 is about transiting from a “Dreamed Landscape to Landscapes of our Dreams”, from an “abstract concept to a physical place” where people live and work. This Collection is currently in the process of being completed.
LACF is grateful to the many individuals who contributed their images and ideas to these photographic portfolios. The stunning photographs selected for this project now populate the LACF website and reveal a Canadian perception and understanding of our regions and territories.
#3. LACF PORTFOLIO Archives
Image from Burning Man, Sara Luce-Andreyko, University of Guelph, MLA thesis,Grant Recipient 2018_ Archives #140
LACF maintains a website collection of the over 150 initiatives and ideas funded since the Foundation was established in 1988. Summaries of grants, bursaries and special projects are compiled chronologically. This archive collection documents LACF history and provides an overview of works that have contributed to the advancement and promotion of fundamental values of the profession of landscape architecture.