Brian Stead: A man ahead of his time

Driven by passion in everything he did

The late Brian Stead was ahead of the game in terms of what he collected. When most people were still stripping pine furniture and refinishing pieces, he was hot on the trails of Canadiana painted furniture in original condition.

“Dad was a passionate man,” says his son Geoff. “He was passionate about fishing and hunting, his dogs, his friendships and that passion just spilled over into earthenware and early Canadiana furniture.”

Brian Stead was a lawyer for 20 years and a provincial court judge for another 20. He died about a year-and-a-half ago. Now, some of the highlights in his outstanding collection are being sold at Miller & Miller’s Oct. 24th auction, Canadiana & Historic Objects.

Waterloo County Painted Pine Corner Cupboard

Highlights from the Brian Stead Collection slated to be sold at Miller & Miller’s October 24th auction. Click to view.

“Brian was a lawyer and I needed a lawyer at one time. Then he got into antiques and at that point we became friends,” says Jim Sherman, a self-described “true picker” who’s been in the business for 45 years.

“Brian was an honourable man, never competitive. He just loved taking his two sons to outdoor shows and looking for original condition Canadian furniture and redware pottery in brilliant colours,” recalls Sherman. “He was a headstrong six-foot-two guy who didn’t take any guff from anybody. I like people like that. I like people who are honest and straightforward.”

A large selection of redware pottery from the Stead collection is slated for sale at Miller & Miller Auctions. Pictured above: Lot 284 and Lot 286.

Geoff recalls his father “carting” him and his brother around when they were young boys to browse the outdoor shows and antique shops. Their mother had died from cancer when Geoff was only nine so Brian raised the boys on his own, infusing them with the same love for history and antiques that he had.

“For Dad, collecting became an obsession. He loved the idea of being a part of history. He found some amazing local pieces from places like Waterloo County and the Niagara Peninsula,” says Geoff. “I think to be a collector you have to be dedicated and it has to be a passion. You have to dedicate the time to learn and then spend the time the time it takes to find what you’re interested in. That kind of passion made Dad successful in everything he did. Dad loved the law, his sports, his dogs and his family.”

It was that same love of dogs that saved Sherman from an embarrassing situation years ago – and one that left a deep and admiring impression on him.

Brian was visiting the Shermans at their home to discuss antiques. The Shermans had just gotten two new puppies and unbeknownst to them as they all sat around the table talking, one of the puppies was under the table chewing on the laces of Brian’s expensive shoes. When he stood up to leave, they saw what had happened, horrified. Sherman remembers his own reaction, but will never forget Brian’s.

‘Oh, that doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it,’ he recalls Brian saying nonchalantly as he leaned down to pet the puppy.

“That’s just the kind of guy he was.”

By Diane Sewell

Diane Sewell has been a writer for over 25 years, producing stories for some of the country’s top newspapers, consumer magazines and websites, as well as client newsletters and two commissioned books.