Women dressed in their bustled and bonneted best saunter around the fountain of Gore Park on the crooked arms of men clad in blazers and bow ties. "The vintage photo is from 1862," says Alphons Guirgues, owner of La Galleria Canada, which specializes in vintage posters, old photographs, French art and custom framing. Alphons opened the gallery in October of 2011 before relocating to its present location in September of 2014. But the store has a lineage that spans continents.
"Art is in my blood," Alphons explains. He learned the art of picture composition and colour balance from his father, a famous Egyptian photographer, and first framed an image — printed on a piece of papyrus — at the age of 15. But Alphons has loved playing with colour and interior design since his youth. "I used to own tourism gift shops in Egypt in five star hotels," he says, before explaining that he was inspired to make art his business while living in Belgium. It was only later, while Alphons was on vacation in Hamilton helping his niece move, that he selected the city as his home.
But it was his travels and love of photography and experience living around the world, in London, Finland, Belgium, Germany and Norway, that cultivated Alphons' love for life's colour. "Travel is like life's school. Your eyes see and you understand people," he says.
