Doreen Curry was born in Orangeville, Ontario, in 1924. She completed a BA in music in 1946 at the University of Toronto, and a degree in Library Science (BLsc.) a year later.

From 1947 until the 1980s, Curry worked at the London Public Library as the head of the Arts and Science, often also working with music materials. Curry began interacting and connecting with local artists when they came to the library for their research. Through her friendship with artist Paterson Ewen, Curry became friends with many London artists such as Greg Curnoe, kerry ferris, Ron Martin, Murray Favro, Jamelie Hassan, Paddy Gunn O’Brien, and Ron Benner.

Curry purchased her friends’ art, often before their work was widely known, with the goal of supporting their artistic practices. By committing to exclusively purchase the works of artists she personally knew, Doreen Curry’s collection grew to reflect both her friendships and the artists that made their homes in London, Ontario.

In April 2013, an exhibition of Doreen Curry’s private art collection, entitled A Circle of Friends, was held at McIntosh Gallery; forty-two works by fourteen local artists were put on display. The exhibition celebrated Curry’s donation of her collection to McIntosh Gallery.

Doreen Curry passed away in October 2017.

Biography by Natalka Duncan and Luvneet K. Rana

SOURCES

“Doreen Curry.” The London Free Press, Londoner, November 1, 2017.
https://lfpress.remembering.ca/obituary/doreen-curry-1073594940.

McIntosh Gallery. A Circle of Friends: The Doreen Curry Collection. McIntosh Gallery, 2013. Exhibition Catalogue. https://mcintoshgallery.ca/docs/mcg-doreencurry-brochure-web.pdf.