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SAUER, June

Born
Thunder Bay, Ontario, 1924
Biography synopsis
In the late 1940s, Sauer moved from her hometown, Thunder Bay, to Montreal where she married Max Sauer a renowned Montreal photographer. Sauer learned about photography from her husband, and in 1954, after her husband's sudden death, oversaw his studio, Sauer embarked on a career which lasted until 1988. Although industrial photography had been one her husband's main focuses, Sauer delegated this task to an employee and turned her own lens to the fashion world. Specifically, Sauer specialized in photographing fur. Her ease and camaraderie with the models lent her shots a genuine quality which soon earned her several awards including the Craftsman of Photographic Arts in 1969. Over the years, Sauer became an icon in the Montreal fashion world, where she received numerous commissions and was invited to give seminars. Her prestigious clients included Ogilvy's Department store, Holt Renfrew, the Fur Traders Association and Grosvenor. In 1957, Sauer was commissioned by McGill to document the cast of "My Fur Lady"-- a satirical play which turned into a national sensation. In 1996, to celebrate its 130th anniversary, Ogilvy's organized a retrospective of Sauer's work, which was the first and only exhibit of her photography. The most intriguing and in-depth analysis of her oeuvre can be found in Chantal Nadeau's "Fur Nation: From the Beaver to Brigitte Bardot."
Media used
Photography
File & Archive locations
Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
McCord Museum Archives, QC
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
Archives de l'école supérieure de mode de Montréal
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
Baril, Gerald. Dicomode: dictionnaire de la mode au Quebec de 1900 a nos jours. St-Laurent, Quebec: Fides, 2004
Capreol, John. "The Model Way to Reach the Top." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 1 Feb. 1968: W4
Carson, Susan. "I Felt I Had to Perpetuate What He Started." Ottawa Journal 29 Jan. 1972: 8-10
Gordon, E.J.. "Museum Ball Makes Reflection its Theme." Gazette (Montreal) 22 Sept. 1988: F7
Meehan, Hilda. "Woman Behind the Man Takes Over." Gazette (Montreal) 28 Mar. 1960: 10
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19600328&id=WZItAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jp0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=7129,5367183
Monahan, Iona. "For Sauer, Shooting Fashion Was an Art." Gazette (Montreal) 24 Sept. 1996: D3
Monk, Lorraine. Photography 1975 / Photographie 1975. Ottawa: Still Photography Division, National Film Board of Canada, 1975
Monk, Lorraine. The Female Eye / Coup d'oeil féminin. Ottawa, Ontario: National Film Board of Canada, Still Photography Division, 1975
Nadeau, Chantal. Fur Nation: From the Beaver to Brigitte Bardot. London; New York: Routledge, 2001
Nadeau, Chantal. "Une histoire revisit�e: Le pays des fourrures: du castor � Brigitte Bardot." Recherches f�ministes 13.2 (2000): 113-120
Roy, Viviane. "R�trospective d'une photographe de mode." La Presse (Montreal) 2 Oct. 1996: C6
http://www.banq.qc.ca/collections/collection_numerique/journaux-revues/result-pop.html?l_id=0000082812f1996100203fp2182640p6&keyword=max+sauer#

Writings by
Sauer, June and Florence Blackwell. "The Beauties of Montreal." Montr�al 2.9 (1965): 4-7

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