Fonds F027 - Graeme Clyke fonds

Graeme Baxter Clyke was born on August 30, 1936, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Emily (Davis) Clyke and Stanley Clyke. He has one sister, Dr. Sharon (Clyke) Oliver, former president of the Black Loyalist Heritage Society in Nova Scotia. His aunt is Nova Scotian businesswoman Viola Desmond.

Clyke moved to Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighborhood when he was a young child, briefly returning to Nova Scotia before settling in Montreal with his family around 1942. He briefly lived in New York City as a teenager. Clyke graduated from Royal Arthur School and Westmount High School in Montreal. He continued his education at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and then the École des Beaux Arts, where he studied under Arthur Lismer. After graduation, Clyke worked for photographer Hugh Frankel, and later established himself as a freelance photographer and dark room technician. He worked on notable projects, including Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympics. In 1970 Clyke opened “Graeme Sights and Sounds” on Westminster Avenue in Montreal West. The store, which sold records in the front and had a studio in the back, closed in 1972 when Clyke returned to school. Clyke obtained his bachelor of Fine Arts in 1981 from Sir George Williams University, now Concordia University. Clyke opened a second studio around 1983, “Graeme’s Photo Studio,” at 5934 Sherbrook Street West in the Montreal neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. “Graeme’s Photo Studio” later moved to 14 Milner Street in Montreal West.

Graeme Clyke attended the Negro Community Centre as a child and was involved with the Centre throughout his life. His parents were also deeply involved in the Center, his father working as the Executive Director and his mother as a social worker. Graeme Clyke’s wife, Betty-Lou (Headley) Clyke, also attended the Centre. Graeme Clyke met Betty-Lou when they were children. They were married in September 1963. Their son, Graeme Stanley Clark, was born in 1970.