Since 1994, Toronto-based artist Arnaud Maggs’ interest in archival practice has led him to photograph objects and books of extreme beauty, rarity and historical importance. These pristine, technically brilliant images are at the forefront of a current trend within contemporary art: the archive. At the age of 47, Maggs left behind a successful career as a commercial illustrator and fashion photographer to dedicate himself to the fine arts. His first major photographic work, 64 Portrait Studies (1976–78) featuring thirty-two anonymous models, photographed frontally and in profile from the shoulders up, arranged in a grid to a total of 64 black and white, gelatine silver photographs laid the groundwork for an artistic vision that Maggs has carried through his whole life.