Loading AI tools
Canadian writer, curator, and art historian From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joan Arden Charlat Murray OOnt FRSC (born August 12, 1943) is an American-born Canadian art historian, writer and curator.
Joan Murray | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | Joan Arden Charlat Murray August 12, 1943 New York City, United States |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupations | |
| Known for | Tom Thomson catalogue; museum director; curator; writing |
Joan Charlat was born in New York City in 1943.[1] She moved to Canada in 1959 to marry W. Ross Murray (1930–2020) and studied art history at the University of Toronto, receiving an Honours B.A. (1965). Murray completed an M.A. at Columbia University in 1966.[1][2]
In 1968 she took a position as the head of education at the Art Gallery of Ontario; in 1969 she became Research Curator, and following that became the first Curator of Canadian Art (1970–1973). At the Gallery, she also served as the Acting Chief Curator (1972).[2] From 1974[3] to 1999, Murray served as Director of the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa.[4] From 2005–2006, Murray served as the Interim Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer[5] of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario after the unexpected resignation of Vincent Varga.[6][7]
As one of only seven female art curators in Canada at the time of her AGO appointment, Murray advocated for the role of women in curatorial roles. She believed women were well-suited for these nurturing, essentially administrative roles.[2]
Murray has written extensively on the Group of Seven, particularly Tom Thomson. She has prepared a catalogue raisonné of his work, a project which took over fifty years.[8][9] She also has authored many books on the history of Canadian art,[10][11] most notably Canadian Art in the Twentieth Century (1999),[12] Northern Lights: Masterpieces of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven (1994),[13][14] McMichael Canadian Art Collection: One Hundred Masterworks (2006), and Laura Muntz Lyall: Impressions of Women and Childhood (2012). She has published over one hundred catalogues and two hundred articles on subjects ranging from folk art to contemporary artists.[4][15] Her collection of papers and over 600 interviews with artists[16] are stored in Library and Archives Canada.[17]
Murray was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1992;[18] and in 1993, received the Senior Award from the Association of Cultural Executives for her contributions to Canadian cultural life.[19] She received the Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Ontario Association of Art Galleries in 2000.[19] She received the Order of Ontario in 2003,[4] and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.[20] Murray was selected as University College, University of Toronto 2013 Alumni of Influence in 2013.[21]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
