Manitoba Photographers: Davidson Studio

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Established by Harold George “Harry” Davidson (1913-1959) in 1938, joined later by his brother John Robert “Jack” Davidson (1911-2000), the Davidson Studio became the largest photo studio in Winnipeg. It employed four full-time and two part-time photographers, two darkroom technicians, a retouch artist, and in the years before color photography a photo oil colorist. The studio maintained a fleet of four automobiles. A long-time employee was John Wallace Hutchinson (1906-1988) who learned photography while working with a studio at Clear Lake. After Harold died, the studio was operated by Jack and his wife Daisy, who also sold cameras and lighting systems as Photo Film Industries. Sold to an employee in 1972, the studio went into receivership in early 1976.

View of the Davidson Studio

View of the Davidson Studio (mid-1950s)
Source: Jake Davidson

Work location(s)

Year(s)

Address

1938-1976

106 Osborne Street, Winnipeg

Sources:

Birth registrations [John Robert Davidson, Harold George Davidson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Photographer H. Davidson dead at 46,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 March 1959, page 27.

“For sale by receiver certain assets of Davidson Studios (1972) Ltd. in receivership,” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 April 1976, page 13.

Obituary [John Wallace Hutchinson], Winnipeg Free Press, 24 February 1988, page 46.

This page was prepared by Jake Davidson and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 2 January 2019

Manitoba Photographers: 1858 to Present

A list of professional photographers who have worked in Manitoba, from 1858 to the present, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society.

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Gordon Goldsborough & Manitoba Historical Society. All rights reserved.