Joan Murray (art historian) explained

Joan Murray
Birth Name:Joan Arden Charlat Murray
Birth Date:12 August 1943
Birth Place:New York City, United States
Nationality:Canadian
Known For:Tom Thomson catalogue; museum director; curator; writing

Joan Arden Charlat Murray (born August 12, 1943) is an American-born Canadian art historian, writer and curator.

Education and personal life

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.[2]

Career

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). 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.

Writing

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.[15] Her collection of papers and over 600 interviews with artists[16] are stored in Library and Archives Canada.[17]

Honours

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. She received the Order of Ontario in 2003, 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]

Books

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Murray. Joan. Joan Murray Life. Joan Murray Art Website. January 16, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20180415080156/http://joanmurrayart.com/life/. April 15, 2018. dead.
  2. News: 1973-04-27. Proposed gallery impresses curator. 36. The Windsor Star. 2020-08-01.
  3. Web site: Robert McLaughlin Gallery . The Canadian Encyclopedia . 7 October 2024.
  4. Web site: Joan Murray - 2013 Award Recipient. www.uc.utoronto.ca. April 22, 2020.
  5. Web site: Governor General to open new art exhibition 'The McMichael Canadian Art Collection at Rideau Hall . Government of Canada . 7 October 2024.
  6. News: Former AGO curator appointed at McMichael . 7 October 2024 . Globe and Mail . 29 November 2004.
  7. News: McMichael art gallery names new president . 7 October 2024 . Globe and Mail . 9 February 2006.
  8. Web site: 2015-10-28. Tom Thomson's 'last painting' expected to sell for between $500,000 and $700,000 at Toronto auction. 2020-08-01. National Post. en-CA.
  9. Web site: Murray. Joan. Tom Thomson Catalogue Raisonné. 2020-08-01.
  10. News: Lehmann. Henry. 2002-12-07. Group of Seven in the garden. 119. The Gazette. 2020-08-01.
  11. Web site: Joan Murray: 164 Works (search results) . Internet Archive: Open Library . 7 October 2024.
  12. News: Kellogg. Alan. 1999-12-13. How artists saw Canada for 100 years. 20. Edmonton Journal. 2020-08-01.
  13. News: Mandel. Charles. 1994-12-04. Art books not necessarily a boring proposition. 46. Edmonton Journal. 2020-08-01.
  14. Picture Perfect . Maclean's . 1994 . 57. 2021-04-30.
  15. Web site: Osborne . Catherine . 2000 . Review of Murray's Canadian Art in the Twentieth Century . October 13, 2022 . quillandquire.com.
  16. Web site: Joan Murray fonds (Vol. 1-21) . Collectionscanada archives.gc.ca . 7 October 2024.
  17. Web site: 2017-07-20. Joan Murray fonds. 2020-06-16. Library and Archives Canada.
  18. Web site: RSC Membership List. RSC. June 13, 2019 .
  19. Book: Murray, Joan . Lawren Harris : an introduction to his life and art . 2003 . 1-55297-763-3 . Toronto, Ont. . 51925178.
  20. News: 2018-06-11 . Recipients . 2022-09-06 . The Governor General of Canada.
  21. Web site: Alumni of Influence University College U of T. www.uc.utoronto.ca. April 22, 2020.
  22. News: Johnson. Eve. 1984-11-22. The Hardy boys of art. 45. The Vancouver Sun. 2020-08-01.

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