Title / Statement of responsibility: Marie Elwood fonds Dates of Creation: 1968-2010, predominant 1978-2007 Retrieval code: 2014-032 Physical Description: 4.4 m of textual records and graphic material Biographical sketch: Marie Beatrice (Boyd) Elwood, museum curator and decorative arts historian specializing in antique furnishings and porcelain china, was born January 30, 1932 in Belfast, Northern Ireland and educated at Victoria College, College of Art, and Queen’s University in Ireland, graduating with diplomas in Fine Art (1953), Education (1954), and Testimonium in Theology (1955). Marie became a Canadian citizen and immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, with husband Dr. T. Neville Elwood in 1958. The family then moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1961 and raised two sons and two daughters. In 1971 Marie was hired as a research associate for the Nova Scotia Museum, and then became Chief Curator of History from 1974 until her retirement in November 1992. During her tenure at Nova Scotia Museum she arranged for the repatriation of Canadian works of art by John E. Woolford (1778-1866), John Singleton Copley (1738-1815), and an archive from George Ramsey 9th Earl of Dalhousie when he was Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia 1816-1820 and Governor General of British North America 1820-1828. She researched, designed and organized museum exhibits on antique furnishings, ceramics, and Nova Scotia ceramic artist Alice Egan Hagen. She also represented the Nova Scotia Museum on the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board (CCPERB) from 1981 to 1987, and then served as Special Advisor 1988 to 2003, assisting with the formation of the Canadiana Fund. In 1994 she was appointed honorary member of the Canadiana Fund Board of Directors and served until 2008. She was on the Collections Advisory Committee and appointed Curatorial Advisor for the National Capital Commission’s Official Residences of Canada to advise on furnishings and décor for Rideau Hall in Ottawa from 1991 to 2008. After retirement, she was guest curator with the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa for the 1997 exhibition “Tableful of Canada: A Splendid Gift: the 1897 Canadian Historical Dinner Service”. She also worked under contract for the Province of Nova Scotia to preserve, inventory and restore the furnishings at Province House (the Legislature) and Government House (the Lieutenant- Governor’s residence) from 1994 to 2004, and did the same inventory work for the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly in 2004. Within Nova Scotia, she served on the Acquisition Sub-Committee for Ceramics of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia from 1994 to 1997, designed the Halifax Regional Municipality’s Coat of Arms 1997-1999, restored the hatchments at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Halifax, and traveled to China to be guest lecturer at Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in Jingdezhen, China. She was elected as a Fellow 2015-08-21 Page 1 Nova Scotia Archives Marie Elwood fonds. – 1968-2010. – 4.4 m of textual and graphic material. of the Royal Society of Arts in London, UK in 1982, received an honorary degree from University of King’s College in 1987 and was one of the first recipients of the Order of Nova Scotia in 2002. She was active in several art and heritage societies, including the Medical Society of NS, Lescarbot Award, American Ceramic Circle and Canadian Society of Decorative Arts. Marie Elwood died in March 2012 in Halifax, NS. Sources: 1. Contents of the fonds. 2. “Marie’s Starry Career” compiled by the donor Dr. Neville Elwood, 2013. 3. “Elwood was curator at Nova Scotia Museum” in Chronicle-Herald newspaper March 30, 2012, http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/79064-across-nova-scotia, accessed on December 18, 2012. Custodial History: The records were in the custody and control of their creator, Dr. Marie Elwood, from the time of their creation or accumulation, until her death in March 2012. Custody inherited by creator’s husband, Dr. T. Neville Elwood until he donated them to Nova Scotia Archives on 11th of March 2013. Scope and content: Fonds consists of research notes and printed materials, photographs and slides, business correspondence, manuscripts and published articles, printed heritage brochures and booklets, exhibit catalogs, research contracts and travel expenses documenting Elwood’s major research projects while Chief Curator at Nova Scotia Museum and as Consultant after retirement, including repatriation of John E. Woolford’s paintings created for Lord Dalhousie during his tours around Nova Scotia 1817-1818 and the Great Lakes in present day Quebec and Ontario 1820-1821; the exhibit of the Cabot Commemorative State Dinner Service (china dinner set) and related Alice Egan Hagen painted porcelain exhibits; the inventory of the Weldon Collection of china at University Kings College; and the creation of a Doctor’s Office 1900-1910 exhibit at Sherbrook Village living history museum in Sherbrook, NS. Fonds also includes research notes, drafts and final versions of the detailed inventories of furnishings and décor she produced for Nova Scotia Government House (2003), Nova Scotia Province House (2004), and the New Brunswick Legislature (2004); correspondence and some reports from provincial, national and international art and heritage associations she served with; draft guidelines for the restoration of the interior of Rideau Hall, the official residence of Canada’s Governors General, and correspondence and notes regarding a special rug for Rideau Hall created by the craftswomen of Cheticamp, NS. 2015-08-21 Page 2 Nova Scotia Archives Marie Elwood fonds. – 1968-2010. – 4.4 m of textual and graphic material. Physical Description note: Includes 3.56 m of textual records (26 boxes). -- 3003 photographs: slides, prints, negatives, contact sheets, b&w and col.; 34 x 50 cm or smaller. -- 12 drawings: ink on paper; 21 x 22 cm or smaller. -- 2 paintings: paper and paint on silk, mounted; 28 x 20 cm. -- 1 video cassette (00:23:15): VHS tape, col., analog. -- 1 audio cassette (00:11:00): single sided, analog. - - 2 compact disks (textual records): CD-R; 12 cm. diam. Rights note: Copyright owned by Nova Scotia Archives. General note 1: Contains some 19th century original documents collected by Marie Elwood. General note 2: The exhibit for the Cabot Commemorative State Dinner Service “Tableful of Canada: A Splendid Gift” was subsequently digitized and is available at www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/cadeau/caint02e.shtml Provenance: Elwood, Marie, 1932-2012 File / Item List: Series File or Item Title Dates of Images Extent Scope & Content Box File Creation # # Alice Hagen Project Speaking & Research Notes 1978- File contains speaking notes and research 01 1 1987 on ceramic artist Alice Egan Hagen and the Cabot State Dinner Service she participated in creating. Also includes letters from Rachel Dickinson, daughter of Alice Hagen, and a newspaper article about Rachel. Alice Hagen Project Research 1962- File contains photocopies and scanned 01 2 1988 colour images of the Cabot State Dinner Service dish set, a manuscript of a speech about the set, typed and hand-written notes on Alice Hagen and other artists of the Dinner Set; copies of articles and 2015-08-21 Page 3 Nova Scotia Archives Marie Elwood fonds. – 1968-2010. – 4.4 m of textual and graphic material. Series File or Item Title Dates of Images Extent Scope & Content Box File Creation # # newspaper clippings and incoming correspondence with Rideau Hall, students, and Aberdeen, Scotland. Alice Hagen Project Exhibits 1989- File contains incoming correspondence 01 3 2003 from Mount Saint Vincent University and the text for an online exhibit on Alice Hagen's art in Virtual Museum of Canada Community Memories Program. Also includes text of an exhibit at Mahone Bay Settler's Museum. Alice Hagen Project Exhibits 2 1976- File contains exhibition brochures of Alice 01 4 1984 Hagen Exhibition at Anna Leonowens Art Gallery, May 28 - June 14, 1984 and at Art Gallery, Mount Saint Vincent, July 8 - August 1, 1976. Alice Hagen Project Images: Photos collected 1 photograph: File contains photographs of artist Alice 27 01 [197-?]- b&w, Hagen, her studio in Halifax, and some of 1991, mounted; 15 x her paintings on porcelain. (originally 23 cm. -- 1 created photograph: 1898, b&w; 10 x 12 1958) cm. -- 3 photographs: b&w; 13 x 18 cm. -- 1 photograph: b&w; 26 x 13 cm. -- 1 photograph: b&w; 12 x 17 2015-08-21 Page 4 Nova Scotia Archives Marie Elwood fonds. – 1968-2010. – 4.4 m of textual and graphic material. Series File or Item Title Dates of Images Extent Scope & Content Box File Creation # # cm. -- 1 photograph: col.; 9 x 13 cm. -- 2 photographs: col.; 8 x 12 cm. -- 2 negatives, b&w; 10 x 13 cm. Alice Hagen Project Images: Slides [1991?] 45 slides: col.; File contains slides of the Cabot State 31 01 5 x 5 cm. Dinner Service on display at Haddo Hall, Aberdeen, Scotland. Slides are identified on a separate sheet. Alice Hagen Project Slideshow [1976?] 63 slides: col.; File contains slides of Alice Hagen's art, 31 02 5 x 5 cm. family members, and home, accompanied by an audio recording of Marie Elwood's narration for the slide show (See Ac3791). Used by Elwood in presentations about Alice Hagen's life and art. Alice Hagen Project Slideshow Narration [1976?] 1 Item is an audio recording on cassette tape Ac audiocassette (00:11:00) of Marie Elwood's narration for 37 tape: a slide show on the life and art of Alice E. 91 00:11:00, Hagen. Used by Elwood in presentations single sided. about Alice Hagen. Audio cassette tape entitled "Alice Hagen: M. Elwood" and includes a beep at regular intervals to signal the slideshow projector operator to change the slide. 2015-08-21 Page 5 Nova Scotia Archives Marie Elwood fonds.