About Joan Murray

Joan Arden Charlat Murray, OOnt, FRSC (b. 1943) is an American-born Canadian art historian, writer, curator—and, since 1983, a painter.

After decades devoted to Canadian art scholarship and museum leadership, Joan’s studio practice has become a focused space for colour, light, and celebration. She paints floral arrangements in acrylic on paper—works shaped by a lifetime of looking closely, and made to bring warmth to the rooms they live in.

In 2013, a major stroke took the use of her dominant right hand. In 2023, she returned to painting with her left hand, continuing a practice grounded in attentiveness and joy.

“If my pictures cheer people up, then I’m happy. I invite everyone to make art. It is a way to celebrate life.”

Background (selected)

Joan studied art history at the University of Toronto (Honours B.A., 1965) and Columbia University (M.A., 1966), and became a Canadian citizen in 1967. She held senior curatorial roles at the Art Gallery of Ontario, including the first Curator of Canadian Art, and later served as Director of The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (1974–1999). She also served as Interim Executive Director and CEO of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (2005–2006).

Joan has written 25 books on Canadian art, including the Tom Thomson Catalogue Raisonné, and has been recognized with numerous honours, including appointment to the Order of Ontario.