Former National Gallery head Shirley Thomson dies
Called a fairy godmother of the arts in Canada
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 | 6:49 PM ET
CBC News
Shirley Thomson, former director of the National Gallery of Canada and one of Canada's most passionate advocates for the arts, died on Tuesday. (Martin Lipman/Canadian Press)Shirley Thomson, former head of the National Gallery of Canada and one of the country's most passionate advocates for the arts, died on Tuesday at the age of 80.
She was scheduled to undergo a heart valve transplant on Thursday, Diana Nemiroff, director of the Carleton University Art Gallery, told the Ottawa Citizen.
"She never made it. She was just so totally engaged in the world of art that one thought she would go on forever."
Nemiroff, who was a curator of the National Gallery when Thomson became its director in 1987, called Thomson Canada's elder stateswoman of the arts.
Thomson was director of the National Gallery until 1997, and then served as director of the Canada Council for the Arts from 1998 to 2002.
"Shirley will be remembered with affection and respect by her colleagues at the council and by all those inspired by her extraordinary leadership," Robert Sirman, director and chief executive of the Canada Council, said in a statement on Wednesday.
A native of St. Marys, Ont., Thomson received a doctorate in art history from McGill University, and held many influential positions in Canada's arts community.
She was director of Montreal's McCord Museum from 1982 to 1985, and secretary-general of the Canadian commission for UNESCO.
Most recently, she served as chair of the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board from 2003 to 2007. The board determines the significance and fair market value of cultural property donated or sold to Canadian museums, galleries, archives, libraries and public authorities.
Numerous awards
Thomson received numerous awards for her contributions to the arts. In 2008, she was given the Governor General's Award, and she was made an officer of the Order of Ontario this year.
In 1994, she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada and promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 2001.
In 1990, she was appointed Chevalier des arts and letters by the Government of France.
Michael Audain, chair of the National Gallery's board of trustees, described Thomson as a fairy godmother of the arts who was always championing artists.
He added that Thomson's artistic judgment has been borne out over the years.
She was criticized when the National Gallery spent $1.8 million to buy the late U.S. artist Barnett Newman's Voice of Fire in 1990. "It's worth infinitely more now," Audain said.
The director's job is to launch exhibitions that draw large crowds as well as maintaining the gallery's scholarship. He said Thomson was able to strike that balance through her 10-year tenure as director.
