Born in New York, in 1943, Ms. Murray studied art history at the University of Toronto, receiving an Honours B.A.(1965). After earning her M.A. at Columbia University (1966), she returned to University of Toronto for her doctorate. In 1968, she was hired by the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto as Head of Education; from 1969 to 1973, she worked as the Gallery's Research Curator, then as the first Curator of Canadian Art. Ms. Murray was the Interim Executive Director and CEO of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, 2005-2006, and the Executive Director of The Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, 1974-2000. As an independent curator from 2000-2007, she worked for many other galleries such as the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; the Museum London, Art Gallery of Hamilton, and other galleries, and for the Varley Art Gallery in Unionville where she was Adjunct Curator (2003-2004). She lectures widely in Canada and abroad. Murray is currently working on several full-colour books on Canadian painters and on shows about artists Florence Vale and John Meredith and William Ronald.
PUBLICATIONS:
Michael Adamson paintings (2008): Open Country. Panda , 2008
One Hundred Masterworks . McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 2006
Rocks. McArthur & Company, 2006
Water: Lawren Harris and the Group of Seven. Toronto: McArthur & Company, 2004.
Flowers: J.E.H. MacDonald, Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. Toronto: McArthur & Company, 2002.
Tom Thomson: Trees. Toronto: McArthur & Company, 1999.
Canadian Art in the Twentieth Century. Dundurn, 1999.
AWARDS:
Order of Ontario, 2003
Award for Lifetime Achievement for Ontario Association of Art Galleries, 2000
Senior Award, Association of Cultural Executives, for outstanding contribution and dedication to Canadian cultural life, 1993.
