Bernard Doucet Named Beaverbrook Art Gallery Executive Director

Expand

Bernard Doucet

Bernard Doucet has been named as the new executive director of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

He will take over the position in December 2024 and will be the first Acadian to hold the position. He told CBC that the gallery is the place where he first fell in love with art, as a nine-year-old child. 

“I believe that art has the power to provoke thought and inspire dialogue, and I look forward to working with artists and communities across New Brunswick,” he said. “Together, we will nurture and promote creative talent, and bring even more visibility to one of the richest collections of artwork in North America.”

For the past decade, Doucet has been the executive director of the Sobey Foundation. Before that, he worked at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. He plans to deepen the Beaverbrook Art Gallery's engagement with the community and with both Canadian and international audiences. He replaces Tom Smart, who retired in April.

The appointment follows the recent completion of the new multi-million dollar Harrison McCain Pavilion, designed by KPMB Architects,” according to the news release.  

The Beaverbrook Art Gallery was founded by Sir William Maxwell Aitken. Born in Canada, he was best known as Lord Beaverbrook and was a member of Winston Churchill's Second World War cabinet in Great Britain. The gallery opened in 1959 with more than 300 works and is renowned for its outstanding collection of Canadian and European art, including works by the Group of Seven, Salvador Dali, Lucien Freud, Shirley Bear and Emily Carr. 

Source: Beaverbrook Art Gallery, CBC

PS: Worried you missed something? See previous Galleries West stories here or sign up for our free biweekly newsletter.