Studios for rent, Alfred Laliberté’s phalanstery
In June 1917, sculptor Alfred Laliberté (1878-1953) bought a three-storey house at 67, Sainte-Famille Street (Montreal). His purchase pursued four objectives : to have a dwelling place and a workshop where he could design memorial monuments, a field in which he specialized, to touch a regular income through the rental of spaces and to welcome other artists in studios specially arranged for them. It was an ideal solution that allowed an enterprising artist room in which to address problems specific to his community. In addition to building a large studio on the vacant lot behind the house, Laliberté established four studios that could accommodate as many artists. Between 1919 and 1939, the house was home to no less than 15 artists who stayed there for periods varying from two to 15 years. These artists included personalities such as Suzor-Coté, Maurice Cullen, Robert Pilot and Edwin Holgate. Financial problems following the Depression and the war forced the artist to convert these workshops into rooms for rent and only the couple formed by Jean Palardy and Jori Smith lived there after 1940.