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state of the art hangs in limbo weekender march 28 1987 pit t v v it by bruce etheridge markham council is trapped in a catch22 at stake is the largest collection of fred varley art work in the world according to regional council lor ron moran it has cost the town between 250000275000 to purchase and repair the house in which fred varley spent his final years the intention was to reno vate the building located at 197 main st in unionville and con vert it into an art gallery com memorating the group of seven artists work but after some recent repair bills council is hesitant to invest any more money into the house until the town is assured of acquir ing the paintings the owner of the collection kathleen mackay is reluctant to bequeath the paint ings to the town until she has some assurance the works of art some valued between 50000- 60000 will be properly cared for and protected im the guardian of something valuable to us all mrs mackay said i cant promise the paint ings unless the collections safety and protection can be guaran teed the town has been renting the house for about 10 years but after paying for a new roof a rebuilt chimney and plumbing work among other repairs this past year council wants to either res tore the building as an art gallery or sell it were not in the business of buying and leasing out homes councillor fred cox said a main st real estate agent estimated the value of the house at approximately 500000 to 650000 in keeping with recent sales on unionvilles main st to convert the old house con structed in 1850 into an art gal lery certain requirements must be met to prevent deterioration of the paintings such things as temperature humidity and lighting must be strictly controlled and main tained the building must also be fire and water proofed and be equipped with a security system art conservator for the mcmichael art gallery cathy stewart estimated it would cost at least 30000 to properly secure the building mrs mackay said that deep in her heart she would like to see the paintings returned to the house fred varley lived and died in the one question that has to be answered is the condition of the house markham town treasurer alec barton and mr cox hope to meet with mrs mackay and her lawyer in the next two weeks mr barton said he and mr cox will do their best to accomodate mrs mackays wishes in meet ing her requirements and satis fying her concerns were will- ing to do what we can to get the paintings without buying them outright mr cox said town treasurer barton empha sized council wouldnt be con cerned about the cost of protect ing the paintings if it could be assured unionville would even tually acquire the collection 150 stores services including eatons woolco miracle foodmart famous players cinemas 5 annual remembrance of things past april 1 2 3 4 wed 6930 pm opening night thurs fri930am930pm saturday930 am600 pm 40 exhibitors rom treasure id clinic thurs fri630830 pm saturday 1 00400 pm babysitting tuesdaysaturday 1030 am330 pm hwy 7 at mccowan rd in the heart of markhamunionv1ue 4776600 owned and optiattd by jds investments umdeo r 3 i rftmoikuillc tntpt in 1 5 h l lln atvw lu j i i ml s i d fred varley group of seven artist lived and died in come a museum to house his work this main street unionville house which may be- bruce etheridge whats that new store in markham village lanes all about were called the butternut tree and were about helping you express yourself in furnishing and accessorizing your home in fact our subtitle is custom furniture and accessories by cus tom we mean our store is actually a gallery and jumping off point for your creativity and imagination we provide visual inspiration with a variety of tables chairs cabinets upholstered furniture and occasional pieces if you like them just the way they are so be it or our cabinetmakers will modify them to your needs if you see something in solid oak and prefer to have it in solid butternut or solid pine well do it thats what custom furniture is all about now what are custom accessories well your home contains rugs lamps light fixtures prints clocks floral arrangements mirrors shelves ceramics pillows linens candles and stuff so does our gallery weve selected things that we like from our manufacturers and distributors if you like something we don t have well work with our suppliers to find it please drop by express yourself wjth custom furniture acces sories and stuff markham village lanes 144 main street north markham ontario up 1y3 416 4717500 v i i j4wja i i m