Nancy Dillow
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Nancy Dillow ( Nancy Elizabeth Robertson; June 26, 1928 – March 27, 2021) was a Canadian museum director,
curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
and writer.


Early life and education

Nancy Elizabeth Robertson was born in Toronto to Fraser Wiliam Robertson (1906–1977), a business writer for ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', and Genevieve Sarah (née Lempke) (1907–1993). Her grandfather was Robert Spelman Robertson (1870–1955), Chief Justice of Ontario. She graduated from St. Clement's School, then took a B.A. in Art and Archaeology,
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, graduating in 1952.Nancy Soon Takes Post Full Season, ''Globe & Mail'', September 5, 1959


Career

In 1956, Dillow was hired by the
Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...
(then the Art Gallery of Toronto). She worked first as an assistant in the extension program, receiving a
Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...
grant in 1958 to study educational and curatorial methods in three museums in the U.S. (the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York, the
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...
in Washington and the
Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...
). In 1959, she became curator of extension (assistant curator) in charge of the education program and installations and exhibitions organized by the gallery, including a retrospective of
Jock Macdonald James Williamson Galloway Macdonald (31 May 1897 – 3 December 1960), commonly known in his professional life as Jock Macdonald, was a member of Painters Eleven (Painters 11, or P11), whose goal was to promote abstract art in Canada. Macdo ...
(1960) and of
J. E. H. MacDonald James Edward Hervey MacDonald (12 May 1873–26 November 1932) was an English-Canadian artist, best known as a member of the Group of Seven who asserted a distinct national identity combined with a common heritage stemming from early modernism ...
(1966).
Art Et Architecture Au Canada
'. University of Toronto Press; January 1, 1991. . p. 658.
In 1963, she was appointed head of the extension department, replacing Stewart Bagnani.


In Saskatchewan

Dillow became director of the Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery (now
MacKenzie Art Gallery The MacKenzie Art Gallery (MAG; ) is an art museum located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The museum occupies the multipurpose T. C. Douglas Building, situated at the edge of the Wascana Centre. The building holds eight galleries totaling to of ...
) in
Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...
in February 1967. At the same time, she was appointed a lecturer in art history at the Regina campus. She created exhibitions and catalogues W.A. Riddell, The MacKenzie Art Gallery Norman Mackenzie`s Legacy, MacKenzie Art Gallery, 1990, 24 at first working with Robert Welsh, a scholar from University of Toronto; the two organized a show of
Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...
and The Hague School of Painting in 1969. She then concentrated on Saskatchewan artists; in 1971, in combination with Terry Fenton and Wayne Morgan, she developed a show and catalogue of these artists.
The dirty thirties in prairie Canada: 11th Western Canada Studies Conference
'. Tantalus Research; 1973. . p. 173.
In her role as museum director, Dillow researched the attributions of the paintings in the collection of the Norman Mackenzie Gallery and developed an education program. She also helped create a new Outreach program, sending works of art and an educator to explain them to rural Saskatchewan, as well as setting up the Rosemont Centre in southern Regina, later a gallery in its own right. In 1972, she curated an exhibition of eastern Canadian artists at the
Edmonton Art Gallery The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is an art museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum occupies an building at Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. The museum building was originally designed by Donald G. Bittorf, and B. James Wensley, alt ...
. That year the National Museums of Canada designated the Norman Mackenzie Gallery an associate museum. She served on the
University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...
president's committee on campus art, helping to select artwork for display in the campus buildings. In 1974 she organized an individual show of
Marilyn Levine Marilyn Levine (born 22 December 1935 in Medicine Hat, Alberta, died 2 April 2005 in Oakland, California) was a Canadian ceramics artist known for her trompe-l'œil art. She built a reputation making ceramic works of art that looked like leather h ...
, who was then living in Regina. Dillow, and the Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, were accused by several artists that year of ignoring the work of local artists. Four ceramic sculptors from the Regina area boycotted an exhibition intended to show the history of ceramic arts in Regina. Dillow, then in her eighth year as director, admitted the validity of their arguments. From 1976 to 1978, she served as president of the museums association of Saskatchewan, helping to develop a working relationship with the provincial government. In 1978, Dillow organized a show and wrote a catalogue of the
Saskatchewan Arts Board The Saskatchewan Arts Board is an arms-length funding agency that provides support to artists, arts organizations and communities. Established in 1948, it was the first agency of its kind in Canada, predating the Canada Council for the Arts by ...
collection. She also developed an exhibit of the work of William Perehudoff as well as one of Victorian Illustrators, which she organized with the help of
Sybille Pantazzi Sybille Pantazzi (April2, 1914July23, 1983) was a Canadian librarian, Bibliophilia, bibliophile and writer. She was librarian of The E. P. Taylor#Legacy, Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto for 32 years, ...
at the
Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...
. Also in 1978, she was elected president of the Canadian art museum directors association.


In Winnipeg and back to Toronto

In 1979, she left the Mackenzie to become the first chief curator of the
Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...
where she remained till 1984. She was made a Fellow of the Canadian Museum Association in 1981. Each year she put together a show and catalogue on a Winnipeg artist:
Ivan Eyre Ivan Kenneth Eyre (15 April 1935 – 5 November 2022) was a Canadian artist best known for his Canadian Prairies, prairie landscapes and compositionally abstract, figurative paintings. In addition, Eyre was a Professor Emerita, Professor Emeri ...
in 1982,
Eric Bergman Henry Eric Bergman (1893–1958), born Heinrich Erich Bergmann, was a Canadian artist born in Dresden, Germany. Bergman’s training was as a commercial wood engraver illustrating catalogs and business prospectuses. He later took up fine art workin ...
in 1983, and Tony Tascona in 1984; she also wrote a book about Alexander J. Musgrove in 1986.
Buffalo
'. University of Alberta; 1992; . p. 129.
After Winnipeg, Dillow returned to Toronto. In 1991 she founded an organization for volunteers at the
Textile Museum of Canada The Textile Museum of Canada, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a museum dedicated to the collection, exhibition, and documentation of textiles. History The Textile Museum of Canada was founded as the Canadian Museum of Carpets and Textiles ...
. As at the Art Gallery of Ontario, she trained the docents, acted as docent co-ordinator, assisted in work at the reception desk for ten years and took part in fund-raising efforts, including the yardage sale (now textile bazaar) which she co-ordinated for about 12 years. In 2008, she was awarded the Ontario Museum Association's Volunteer of the Year award for her service. When Dillow retired in 2017 from her work with Volunteers at the Textile Museum of Canada, ''Strand News'', the organization's newsletter, wrote a feature article about her. In 2000, she received the Museums Association of Saskatchewan Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contribution to Saskatchewan.


Personal life

In Regina, she met Harry C. Dillow (1922–2004), a professor at what would later become University of Regina. They married in London in 1968.Nancy E. Robertson in the England and Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916–2005, no.5d, 1969 Nancy Dillow died in Toronto, March 27, 2021.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillow, Nancy 1928 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Canadian women writers Directors of museums in Canada Canadian art curators Canadian women curators Writers from Toronto Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian art historians Canadian women non-fiction writers Art museum people