Anne Mirvish Studio Commemorative plaque, 2022.
File information | File dimensions | File size | Options |
Original JPG File | 8400 × 6515 pixels (54.73 MP) 71.1 cm × 55.2 cm @ 300 PPI |
6.2 MB | Restricted |
Low resolution print | 2000 × 1551 pixels (3.1 MP) 16.9 cm × 13.1 cm @ 300 PPI |
678 KB | Restricted |
Screen | 1032 × 800 pixels (0.83 MP) 8.7 cm × 6.8 cm @ 300 PPI |
237 KB | Restricted |
Resource ID
10110
Access
Open
Address
581 Markham St, Toronto, ON M6G 2L7
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2022
Historical Themes
Post-war urban development, Visual Arts, Women's History
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
1900-1953, 1954-1998, 1999-today
Caption
Anne Mirvish Studio Commemorative plaque, 2022.
Description
This home was the first studio of artist and community figure Anne Mirvish (1919–2013).
Anne grew up in Hamilton, Ontario and married Ed Mirvish (1914–2007) in 1941. She provided money and the idea for the couple’s first business, a women’s clothing store, which evolved into Honest Ed’s discount department store.
In 1960, Ed Mirvish planned to knock down 12 homes on Markham Street to build a parking lot. At the same time, the Gerrard Village, an artists’ enclave at Gerrard and Bay Streets, was being demolished. Anne suggested Ed rent the Markham Street houses to artists at an affordable price.
By the mid-1960s, Markham Street from Bloor to Lennox Streets became known as Markham Street Village and eventually Mirvish Village. It had restaurants, galleries, and shops that sold antiques, books, pottery, and textiles. Ed renovated this house for Anne’s personal studio.
Anne’s main focus was sculpture, but she also painted, performed, and made music. Her work evolved from portraits of politicians and well-known people and ended in abstraction, culminating in Annie’s Recipes, a series of metal sculptures.
Anne later moved her studio nearby and remained active for many decades.
Marker lat / long: 43.663725, -79.411649 (WGS84)