Doris SHADBOLT

SHADBOLT, Doris
Died suddenly while in Mexico on December 22, 2003, at age 85. She was born in Preston, Ontario on November 28, 1918, to Rufus Meisel and Ann Hamacher Meisel. Doris studied Fine Art under Charles Comfort and John Alford and graduated Magna Cum Lauda from the University of Toronto in 1941. From 1942-1945 she worked as a research assistant at the Art Gallery of Toronto and then at the National Gallery of Canada where she met her future husband, acclaimed artist Jack Shadbolt. They married after Jack's return from duty in Europe in 1945 and moved to Vancouver. Doris was the West Coast representative for Arts Canada in the late 1940's and continued to write articles for Canadian art magazines for many years. In 1950, she became the paid Docent at the Vancouver Art Gallery and was responsible for art education at the gallery until her appointment as Curator in 1963, a position she held until 1975. During her tenure as Curator, the Gallery became one of the best-known art institutions in Canada. It was recognized nationally and internationally to have an innovative and respected program of exhibitions. Doris was also a noted author, having written two major books about West Coast artists, both published by Douglas and McIntyre: The Art of Emily Carr in 1979 and Bill Reid in 1986 (which won two BC Book Awards). In 1987, Doris and Jack Shadbolt established VIVA (the Vancouver Institute for the Visual Arts), now know as the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation, which gives financial awards to individual artists annually. Doris received the Order of Canada in 1976 and subsequently received many other honours including honorary doctorates from the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. In 2000 she received a Governor General's Award for her contribution to the arts and in 2001, she published her last book, Seven Journeys: The sketchbooks of Emily Carr. She is survived by her friend Ron MacDonald and one sister Grace Wilkie (in Kitchener, Ontario) as well as numerous friends and associates who will miss her support and inspiration for the arts, her keen observations, and most of all, her delightful laugh. A memorial service is being planned for late January. Donations in honour of Doris's memory can be made to the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation, c/o Janice Whitehead, 1556 William Street, Vancouver, BC, V5L 2R2.