Mary Pickford and the Invention of the Movie Star

This exhibition has ended

Affectionately known as ”America’s Sweetheart,” Canadian Mary Pickford was much more than a movie star; she was also a film industry pioneer. An independent producer and co-founder of United Artists, she was one of the most powerful women in the male-dominated Hollywood of her day. Universally loved, a fashion icon, and the face of a multitude of products, she became one of the earliest ”celebrities” in the current sense of the term.

This exhibition, presented from May 3 to October 14, 2012, has been primarily drawn from the Rob Brooks Mary Pickford Collection of the TIFF Film Reference Library — an archive consisting of some 2,000 items that stand as a testament to the heritage left by one of the world’s greatest silent film stars. Visitors to the exhibition will be captivated by the 209 objects on display, which include photos, film clips and posters, and a wide range of merchandise that carried Pickford’s image.