Jean Sutherland Boggs (June 11, 1922 – August 22, 2014) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

academic, art historian and civil servant. She was the first female Director of both the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...

and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.Salisbury, Stephan
"Jean Sutherland Boggs; Led Art Museum"
''Philly.com''. Retrieved 1 January 2015. She was also a specialist in the work of Edgar Degas and Picasso.

Early life

Grace Jean Sutherland Boggs was born in Negritos, Peru, on June 11, 1922 to Oliver Desmond and Humia Marguerite (née Sutherland). Boggs attended

Alma College Alma College is a private liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,400 students and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Alma College is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and offers bachelor ...

in St. Thomas,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, graduating in 1938. Boggs would later receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Trinity College Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Angl ...

in 1942. She received a M.A. in 1946 and a Ph.D. in 1953 from Radcliffe College. From 1942 to 1944, she was an education secretary for the Art Association of Montreal (today known as the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

). In 1948, she joined the faculty of

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

as an assistant professor. From 1949 to 1952, she was an assistant professor at Mount Holyoke College. From 1954 to 1962, she was an assistant and associate professor at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

. In 1962, she was appointed curator for the

Art Gallery of Toronto 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 Bev ...

. In 1964, she was appointed Steinberg Professor of Art History at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

Work

In 1966, Boggs was appointed the first female and fifth director of the

and served in this position until 1976. During her tenure, the Gallery collection grew by more than 8,600 pieces, including works from Degas, van Gogh, Pollock, the Group of Seven, and the beginnings of the Gallery's photography collection. From 1976 to 1979, she was a Professor of Fine Arts at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. From 1978 to 1982, she was the director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She succeeded Evan Turner, who had left following a dispute with the Board of Trustees. Under her leadership, the Museum purchased Edgar Degas's painting ''After the Bath'', which is now considered to be one of the Museum's most important acquisitions in the post-war period."History: 1980-1990"
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Retrieved 1 January 2015. She also presided over the Museum during art historian Stella Kramrisch's acclaimed 1981 exhibition of Indian art, ''Manifestations of Shiva''. She was chair and chief executive officer of the Canada Museums Construction Corporation from 1982 to 1985, where she directed the construction of both a custom-built National Gallery building and the unique

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

(today known as the Canadian Museum of History) in collaboration with the architects

Moshe Safdie Moshe Safdie ( he, משה ספדיה; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author, with Israeli, Canadian, and American citizenship. He is known for incorporating principles of socially responsible des ...

and Douglas Cardinal. From 1991 to 1993, she was a senior advisor for the

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...

. As an art historian, she has written books about the life of Edgar Degas, including ''Portraits By Degas'' (1962). Boggs died on August 22, 2014 at the age of 92 in Ottawa, Ontario.

Honours

In 1973, Boggs was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

"in recognition of her scholarship and the vision and energy she has displayed in developing the collection and the services of the Gallery". She was promoted to Companion in 1992. In 1979 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature from the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

. She was awarded honorary degrees from Mount Holyoke College in 1971,

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in 1976 and from Concordia University in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boggs, Jean 1922 births 2014 deaths Canadian art historians 20th-century Canadian civil servants Canadian art curators Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Harvard University faculty Mount Holyoke College faculty Radcliffe College alumni Trinity College (Canada) alumni University of Toronto alumni Washington University in St. Louis faculty Women art historians Women museum directors Directors of museums in Canada Directors of the Philadelphia Museum of Art 20th-century Peruvian women Canadian women historians Canadian women curators Canadian expatriates in Peru

Early life

Work

Honours

See also

References