Donald R. Sobey Dies at 86
Donald R. Sobey (courtesy National Gallery of Canada)
Nova Scotia businessman Donald R. Sobey, an art enthusiast who championed Canada's best contemporary artists, died Wednesday. He was 86.
Sobey, former president and chairman of Empire Company Ltd. and the son of the Sobey’s grocery store founder, founded the Sobey Art Award in 2002 to bring visibility to emerging artists across the country.
He also served as the chair of the board of trustees at the National Gallery from 2002 to 2008.
Gallery director Sasha Suda said Sobey believed in artists and championed work from every region of the country.
"His grassroots approach, and his vision to create the Sobey Art Award impacted the lives of thousands of emerging artists across the country," she said.
Kitty Scott, the gallery's chief curator, called Sobey's death "an immense loss."
"His unflagging, generous and loyal support has not only touched so many artists’ lives but also so many Canadians who were introduced to the best of the visual artists due to his philanthropy," she said.
Sobey was a founding member of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation board of directors from 2007 to 2020.
In 2015, he donated $2 million to establish the Canadian Artists in Venice Endowment Fund to assist artists representing Canada at the Venice Biennale.
That same year, the National Gallery unveiled the Donald R. Sobey Family Gallery, the first exhibition space named to recognize a donor in the institution’s history.
Sobey is survived by his wife, Beth, his three children and five grandchildren.
Source: National Gallery of Canada
