Eva DAVIES

EVA KOLLER DAVIES A woman of inner strength and grace, Eva Koller Davies passed away peacefully in Peterborough, Ontario on Thursday, September 13, 2018 at the age of 93. Beloved wife of sculptor Haydn Davies (2008) for 60 years, Eva was a prolific and accomplished artist. Eva will be greatly missed by sons, Bryan and Trevor; and their wives, Cheryl and Deb; as well as granddaughter, Rebecca, her husband, Michael, grandsons, Jon, his wife, Maria, Matt, Jesse and Jim. Eva was most appreciative of the years she enjoyed with her great-grandchildren, Kaydn and Harper (Rebecca and Michael). Born in Lovrin, Romania to John and Bertha (nee Gillich) Koller she joined her parents in Canada four years after they had left Europe to emigrate to Canada. She was eight years old when she made the solo journey to the new country in 1932. Eva's talents in art were encouraged when her school selected her to participate in the Saturday morning art classes at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The students came to be known as 'Lismer's Kids', after the Group of Seven artist who had created the program. Eva graduated from the art course at Central Tech and continued to paint and study art at the Ontario College of Art, York University and the University of Toronto. During the 70's and 80's, she and Haydn spent their winters in Florida, where they were closely involved with the Vero Beach Center for the Arts. Eva was part of a female collective 'Five Abstract Artists' that mounted exhibitions up and down Florida's Atlantic coast. During her lifetime Eva Koller Davies' work as a painter was a celebration of form and colour. In describing Eva's painting style, Michael Burtch then Director/Curator Art Gallery of Algoma states 'surfaces dance, warm and cool hues float and shift, musical and architectural motifs slowly suggesting themselves from the matrix of overlapping planes of colour.' Eva will be warmly remembered for her dignity, compassion and humour. A small private gathering of immediate family will be held to celebrate Eva's life. In lieu of flowers, please enjoy a visit to a local art gallery. Her work may be viewed at www.evakollerdavies.ca