Priceless Canadian art pieces from St. Anne's church fire wreckage being brought back to life

Looking at the fragments of canvas covered in soot and debris after the devastating fire at Toronto's historic St. Anne's Church, it's difficult to imagine the artwork could be brought back to life.

But six months on, there's hope that a few of the priceless works can be restored.

The items are now in the hands of an art restoration company made up of conservators who work together to restore paintings, sculptures, works on paper and public artwork.

"Everybody thought that everything from the church was going to be completely destroyed," said Alicia Coutts, director of Toronto Art Restoration.

On June 9, 2024, a blaze gutted St. Anne's Anglican Church's dome and caused heavy damage to the rest of the Byzantine-style church that was built in the early 1900s. No injuries were reported. At its peak, the fire was a four-alarm. 

Toronto police have said the fire wasn't considered suspicious. 

• Tour the priceless wonders of Canadian art lost in that devastating Toronto church fire

St. Anne's was a treasure trove of Canadian art from the early 20th century. In 1923, the church hired English-Canadian artist J.E.H. MacDonald, a founding member of the Group of Seven, to decorate the interior. MacDonald enlisted the help of a group of artists, including Frank Carmichael and Frederick Varley, who would be recognized as the country's top talents.

Among the three murals brought to Coutts is The Tempest by MacDonald.

"It looks like it's in pretty bad shape," Coutts said, adding the conservators put on personal protective equipment while handling the debris and mould when the pieces first arrived.

"We're hoping that after restoration, it's going to look not like new, but significantly better than it currently does. We've been able to bring pieces back from very desperate states," she said.

The company estimates it will take around a year to restore the murals.

Church felt discouraged that anything would be recovered

Frank Cormier, people's warden of St Anne's Church, recalls the moment he received a photo from the fire marshal's office.

"I could clearly see the face of Jesus. I recognized it right away from a piece at the back of the church," he said.

Cormier said the interior was so destroyed that fragments of carpet were being mistaken for art.

"So it was a lot of excitement and a lot of reticence. I thought, 'This couldn't be real, could it?'"

Cormier said finding out that the pieces had been recovered was like being reunited with a lost family photo album. 

"They're pieces that have been present in all the memories and in all the history, and to have some semblance of them coming back to be with us...is very refreshing after watching our home burn." 

The feeling of gratitude isn't lost on Coutts.

"Oh, it means so much to me. I love being able to bring back a piece of artwork so that people can cherish it for years to come."