Jeffrey Spalding
Jeffrey Spalding, a tireless champion of Canadian art, has died.
Spalding, an artist, curator and museum director who worked at leading institutions across the country, suffered a massive stroke on Monday en route to Toronto from Fredericton, his family said.
Spalding had served in numerous roles over the decades, including time as the director of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
He worked as chief curator at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton from 2014 to 2017, and, earlier, as artistic director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Calgary.
He had also worked internationally, most recently in China, where he was appointed as art consultant for the Tao Hua Tan Cultural and Creative Company and lifetime senior artist for the the Tao Hua Tan International Artist Creative Residency. Between 1999 and 2002, Spalding served as the director of the Appleton Museum of Art in Florida.
Spalding had been living in Canada in recent months while he worked on renewing his visa for China and dealt with various personal matters.
Spalding was a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and past-president of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Also an educator, he was an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary.
He had a long relationship with Galleries West magazine, where he was consulting editor, and wrote regular opinion pieces and occasional articles.
In addition to his work as an educator and museum professional, Spalding was a successful painter and printmaker.
His work can be found in major collections in Canada and around the world including the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Art Gallery of Alberta, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Glenbow Museum and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
His work is also in the collections of the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Canadian Consulate in Sydney, Australia.
Spalding was born in Scotland in 1951, and came to Canada as a child with his family, settling in Toronto.
There was no immediate word on funeral arrangements.
