John Charles Spence
18xx-1890
 |
Serge Rodrigue |
He was possibly the son of William Spence, a famous sculptor of Liverpool in England. John C. Spence taught landscape and ornamental drawing in 1854-1855 at the Mechanics' Institute of Montreal.
He began making stained glass in 1856 on Notre-Dame Street in Montreal thereby becoming a pioneer of this glass art in Quebec. En 1880, his sons William and Henry joined him to form the J.C. Spence & Sons Glass Artworks. The premises occupy two floors and are located at the corner of Bleury and Jurors Streets (today Viger St). In addition to stained glass, Spence & Sons sells a wide range of church accessories. They were awarded a medal at the World's Fair of Chicago in 1893. The workshop pursued its activities after the death of John C. Spence until 1914.
John C. Spence labored actively and generously with the Rev. Edmund Wood to the construction of the church St. John the Evangelist in Montreal, the red roof church near Place-des-Arts. He is buried in Mount Royal cemetery. Quebec painter Paul Archibald Caron started his artistic career as an illustrator for J.C. Spence & Sons.
Its stained glass windows have typical appearance of the British tradition artworks. They are made of glass painting. His drawings are successful, especially the faces of characters where there is often a lack of integration into the stained glass window. These are works that command respect when considering their age and technical limitations at that time.
John C. Spence has produced stained glass windows for Anglican churches with only few exceptions. They are found mainly in Quebec but also elsewhere in Canada and the United States. There is even a set of windows in the Presbyterian church on 5th Avenue in New York!
 |
Serge Rodrigue |
Here are some places in Quebec where one can admire the windows of J.C. Spence & Sons:
- The church St. Mark, Longueuil
- The church St. Luke, Waterloo
- The church St. Paul, Knowlton
- The church St. Peter, Sherbrooke
- The basilica Notre-Dame, Montreal
- The cathedral Holy Trinity, Quebec
- The church St. Peter, Cookshire-Eaton
- The church St. Georges, Drummondville
- The church Holy Trinity Church, Iron Hill
- The church St. Stephen, Lachine, Montreal
- The church St. James Apostle, Montreal
- The church St. George's Anglican, Montreal
- The Christ Church, Saint-Andre d'Argenteuil
- The church St. John the Evangelist, Montreal
- The church St. Bartholomew, Saint-Raymond
- The chapel St. Mark, Bishop's University, Sherbrooke
- The chapel of Jeffrey Hale Hospital, Quebec
- The library Saint-Jean (formely the church St. Matthew), Quebec
- The church Purification-de-la-Bienheureuse-Vierge-Marie, Repentigny