Signy Hildur Eaton (; July 1, 1913 – September 10, 1992) was a Canadian socialite, art collector and philanthropist. She was married to

John David Eaton John David Eaton (4 October 1909 – 4 August 1973) was a Canadian businessman and a member of the prominent Eaton family. He was the second son of Sir John Craig Eaton and Lady Eaton of Toronto, Ontario. He was married to Signy Stefansson, an ...

, of the prominent

Eaton family The Eaton family is a prominent Canadian family of Scottish-Irish Methodist origin. Established in Toronto, the family dynasty began in 1869 when Timothy Eaton (1834–1907) founded Eaton's, which became a national chain of department stores. At ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Biography

Signy Hildur Stefansson was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

, to Icelandic immigrants Fridrik Stefansson and Anna Olson. Her father emigrated from

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

in 1876 and settled in

New Iceland New Iceland ( is, Nýja Ísland ) is the name of a region on Lake Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba which was named for settlers from Iceland. It was settled in 1875. Background In 1875, over 200 Icelanders immigrated to Manitoba es ...

, Manitoba, he was a publisher and part-owner of '' Lögberg'', an Icelandic language newspaper. Her maternal grandfather was a member of the ''

Alþingi The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembl ...

''. While studying art at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.John David Eaton John David Eaton (4 October 1909 – 4 August 1973) was a Canadian businessman and a member of the prominent Eaton family. He was the second son of Sir John Craig Eaton and Lady Eaton of Toronto, Ontario. He was married to Signy Stefansson, an ...

, grandson of

Timothy Eaton Timothy Eaton (March 1834 – 31 January 1907) was an Irish businessman who founded the Eaton's department store, one of the most important retail businesses in Canada's history. Early life and family He was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ir ...

, founder of the eponymous T. Eaton Company Limited, who was working at the iconic store on

Portage Avenue Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

. Her future mother-in-law, Lady Eaton, a noted society doyenne, organized a reception to introduce Signy to

society at

Ardwold Ardwold was the residence of Sir John Craig Eaton and Lady Eaton of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sir John was the youngest son of Timothy Eaton, the founder of the T. Eaton Company Department Store, or Eaton's, and he inherited the business and beca ...

, the family's Toronto home. In 1933, Lady Eaton presented her to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...

and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace. Signy and John David were married on August 9, 1933, at Kawandag (now Rosseau Lake College), the Eaton family home on

Lake Rosseau Lake Rosseau is located in Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The south end of the lake is in the Township of Muskoka Lakes, and the north end is in Seguin Township. The lake is surrounded by many cottages, some dating back to the late 1 ...

. The

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

and

Icelandic flag The flag of Iceland ( is, íslenski fáninn) was officially described in Law No. 34, set out on 17 June 1944, the day Iceland became a republic. The law is entitled "The Law of the National Flag of Icelanders and the State Arms" and describes ...

were flown, Icelandic songs were sung and the bride wore a "Viking headress". Signy and John David had four sons; John Craig Eaton II (born 1937),

Fredrik Stefan Eaton Fredrik Stefan Eaton, (June 26, 1938 – February 20, 2021) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who was a member of the prominent Eaton family. He was the great-grandson of Eaton's department store founder Timothy Eaton. Life and care ...

(1938–2021), Thor Edgar Eaton (1942–2017) and

George Ross Eaton George Ross Eaton (born 12 November 1945) is a Canadian former racing driver who is a member of the prominent Eaton family. Life and career Eaton was born in Toronto, he is the youngest son of John and Signy Eaton. He gained attention as a Ca ...

(born 1945). As Mrs. John David Eaton, Signy was active in Toronto society. In 1937, the Eatons built a

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 2 ...

style residence designed by Alvan "Shy" Mathers and Eric Haldenby at 120 Dunvegan Road in the Toronto neighbourhood of

Forest Hill Forest Hill or Forrest Hill may refer to: Places Australia * Forest Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Wagga Wagga * Forrest Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Albury * Forest Hill, Queensland * Forest Hill, Victoria ** Forest Hill Chase Sh ...

. '' The Toronto Telegram'' named her one of the best dressed women in Toronto. Signy filled their Forest Hill home with works by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is ...

Maurice Utrillo Maurice Utrillo (), born Maurice Valadon; 26 December 1883 – 5 November 1955), was a French painter of the School of Paris who specialized in cityscapes. Born in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous painte ...

Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textile as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted ...

, Thelma van Alstyne,

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernist, he was associated with several major ...

Georges Rouault Georges Henri Rouault (; 27 May 1871, Paris – 13 February 1958) was a French painter, draughtsman and print artist, whose work is often associated with Fauvism and Expressionism. Childhood and education Rouault was born in Paris into a p ...

Jean-Paul Riopelle Jean-Paul Riopelle, (October 7, 1923 – March 12, 2002) was a Canadian painter and sculptor from Quebec. He had one of the longest and most important international careers of the sixteen signatories of the ''Refus Global'', the 1948 manif ...

and

Roloff Beny Roloff Beny (1924–1984) was a Canadian photographer who spent the better part of his life in Rome and on his photographic travels throughout the world. Born Wilfred Roy Beny in Medicine Hat, Alberta, he later took as his first name ''Roloff'', ...

. In November 1967, their home was burgaled and $250,000 in art was stolen. They had other homes in

Muskoka Muskoka may refer to: Canada Geographical * Lake Muskoka, lake located between Port Carling and Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada * Muskoka River, a river in the Muskoka District of Ontario, Canada Municipalities * District Municipality of Muskoka, a r ...

, Caledon,

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Ba ...

and Palm Beach. She was active in many philanthropic causes particularly the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Be ...

, Royal Ontario Museum and the Hospital for Sick Children. In 1959, in recognition of her philanthropy and interest in her ancestry, the Icelandic government named her a Knight of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. ...

's only

order of chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and paired with medieval concept ...

. She was appointed to the board of governors of

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and staf ...

when it was founded in 1961 and received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the university in 1971. Signy died of a stroke in Toronto on September 10, 1992, at the age of 79. Her funeral was held on September 15, 1992, at

Timothy Eaton Memorial Church Timothy Eaton Memorial Church is a church located at 230 St. Clair Avenue West in Forest Hill, Toronto, Ontario. Originally Methodist, since 1925, it has belonged to the United Church of Canada. The church is named in memory of Timothy Eaton, fo ...

. She was interred in the Eaton family mausoleum at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Her vast art collection was divided among her four sons and some pieces were sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in 1994 and 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Signy Stefansson 1913 births 1992 deaths People from Winnipeg University of Manitoba alumni Signy Stefansson Eaton Canadian socialites Canadian philanthropists Canadian art collectors Women art collectors Canadian people of Icelandic descent Recipients of the Order of the Falcon Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto