International art dealer was once a kid from Eston

By Verna Thompson

Fred Mulder, an internationally known art dealer based in England who was honoured by the late Queen Elizabeth II for his charitable work, has never forgotten Eston, where he was raised. Mulder's strong ties to his hometown will be highlighted in Saskatoon on September 29th when he delivers the Mendel International Lecture.

Frederick Mulder, an international art dealer, will speak about growing up in Eston, Saskatchewan, when he delivers the Mendel International Lecture in Saskatoon on September 29th.

An acknowledged expert in Pablo Picasso's works, the lecture will be titled 'A Kid from the Prairies: how Remai Modern Came to Have the World's Greatest Collection of Picasso Linocuts and Other Tales.'

In 2012, Mulder assembled a collection of 406 Picasso linocuts, which the Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation purchased and presented to the Remai Art Gallery. This is the largest donation to the Gallery.

Two years later, Mulder made the Remai's second-largest donation: a collection of 23 ceramic pieces by Picasso, valued at half a million dollars.

At that time Mulder said, "I think the wish to make this gesture was born out of a continuing sense of wonder that I had been a prairie boy growing up in the 40s and 50s in tiny Eston, Saskatchewan, a long 35 miles from a paved road, and  that even when I came to the U of S in the early 60s for my first degree I was unable to visit a museum for there was none in Saskatchewan."

He went on to study in London, England. The art scene in London was then "class-ridden," he said, but he treated the metropolis much like Eston.

"I would go anywhere, talk to anyone, with no sense that anyone was better or worse than me, richer or poorer, or that I was any less worthy of anyone's attention in London than I was when I was growing up in Eston. I consider myself very lucky to have come from Saskatchewan and very lucky to have such an interesting and enjoyable way to give something back to this city and this province."

Over the years, Mulder has been very good to his hometown. In the 70s, when the local museum, the Prairie West Historical Centre, was just getting off the ground, he made a generous donation in memory of this mother.

In 2012, he donated a Picasso poster to the museum, making it the only small museum in the province and probably the country to have a genuine Picasso print on its walls.