Pierre Théberge (Photo courtesy National Gallery of Canada)
Pierre Théberge died Oct. 5 after a long illness, the National Gallery of Canada announced Tuesday.
Théberge, the gallery's director from 1998 to 2009, oversaw many large thematic exhibitions and made important acquisitions, including Maman, the sculpture of the much-loved giant spider by Louise Bourgeois.
Marc Mayer, the gallery's current director, said Théberge left an indelible mark on the National Gallery.
“His best initiatives, such as integrating Indigenous art into the Canadian galleries, and the many partnerships that he forged with a variety of institutions, were not only pursued, but significantly expanded, in the years since his retirement," said Mayer.
"Many of his acquisitions have been transformative for the national collection, from Joe Fafard’s Running Horses to the acquisition of Janet Cardiff’s sound installation, Forty-Part Motet.”
Théberge first came to the gallery in 1966 as assistant curator of Canadian art. He became curator of contemporary Canadian art in 1970 and the curatorial administrator in 1972.
He organized landmark exhibitions of Guido Molinari, Greg Curnoe, N.E. Thing Co., Michael Snow and Joyce Wieland, and enriched the gallery’s collections by acquiring their works as well as pieces by Ron Martin, Henry Saxe, Claude Tousignant, Charles Gagnon, Murray Favro and Gathie Falk, among others.
From 1986 to 1997, Théberge served as director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Born in 1942 in rural Québec, he studied art history at the Université de Montréal and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
Numerous honours marked his career. He was appointed Knight of the Ordre national du Québec in 1992 and Officer of the Order of Canada in 2001. In 2002, he received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, and, in 2008, he was appointed Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
Source: National Gallery of Canada