Listening to Her Pictures: The Vision and Visibility of Jean Sutherland Boggs at the National Gallery of Canada Katrina Caruso A Thesis in The Department of Art History Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Art History) at Concordia University Montréal, Québec, Canada January 2018 © Katrina Caruso, 2018 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Katrina Caruso Entitled: Listening to Her Pictures: The Vision and Visibility of Jean Sutherland Boggs at the National Gallery of Canada and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Art History) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final Examining Committee: ____________________________________ Chair Dr. Elaine C. Paterson ____________________________________ Examiner Dr. Kristina Huneault ____________________________________ Examiner Dr. Elaine C. Paterson ____________________________________ Supervisor Dr. Anne Whitelaw Approved by _____________________________________________________ Dr. Kristina Huneault, Graduate Program Director ___________________ 2018 ______________________________________________ Dr. Rebecca Taylor Duclos, Dean of Faculty of Fine Arts Abstract Listening to Her Pictures: The Vision and Visibility of Jean Sutherland Boggs at the National Gallery of Canada Katrina Caruso This thesis explores how Dr. Jean Sutherland Boggs (1922-2014) navigated her position of power as the first woman to direct the National Gallery of Canada (NGC). Boggs worked as director from 1966 to 1976. She returned to Ottawa in 1982 to lead the Canada Museums Construction Corporation, formed to oversee the construction of a new building for the NGC and the Museum of Man (now the Canadian Museum of History). This study looks at Boggs’s tenure as NGC director as a case study on gender and power in Canadian art institutions. Photographs of Boggs, alongside archival material, are analyzed to explore her accomplishments during her tenure. These photographs are a method to denote the different ways in which Boggs has been represented and how she presented herself. This thesis will examine Boggs’s significant contributions to the NGC, including reinvigorating the NGC’s public image, hiring new staff, expanding the collection, and ultimately, helping to construct its permanent home. Her vision for the NGC has left an imprint on the building and institution that she helped to build. Drawing on feminist and historiographical theories, alongside the contexts of the changing museum in contemporary society, and women’s entrance into the labour force in the 1960s, this thesis situates a turning point in the NGC’s history. iii Acknowledgements There are many people to which I extend my thanks, for their support, encouragement, motivation, advice, insight, and generosity. I could not have completed this project alone. Firstly, I owe a great debt to my supervisor, Dr. Anne Whitelaw, who believed in me and this project since before I started my degree. She generously and patiently offered me encouragement, mentorship, and reason. It has been an honour to learn from her. At Concordia, I have met several incredible people who have significantly impacted me. I have much gratitude towards my reader, Dr. Kristina Huneault, whose suggestions strengthened this thesis and offered me a fresh perspective. Her excitement for this project reminded me of its worth. I also thank Dr. Heather Igloliorte, Dr. Cynthia Hammond, and Dr. Nicola Pezolet, for the opportunities they afforded me, and Dr. Anna Wacławek and Dina Vescio for their help wading through academic bureaucracy. Thanks to Kate Marley, Kathleen Perry, Dr. Janice Anderson, and Pamela Caussy at the Slide Library, first for giving me a place to work, and then a place to write. I am also very appreciative of the funding I received from the Department of Art History, the Morrie and Diane Cohen Graduate Award in Art History, and the Faculty of Fine Arts. Thank you to Diana Nemiroff, Charles Hill, and Cyndie Campbell for providing their time to be interviewed for this thesis, and to Philip Dombowsky at the National Gallery of Canada Archives for welcoming me on my trips to Ottawa. Many thanks to my brilliant graduate school cohort, who have all taught me so much and continue to inspire me. Especially, I thank Samantha, Tamara, Alyssa, and Laura for their unwavering friendship and solidarity. Thank you to my friends Nadia, Sarah, Hayley, and Cassandra for their encouragement and motivation, my mother Lydia for her pep talks and real talks, as well as my father Vic, my brother Justin, and my extended family, for their relentless support. Finally, my deepest thanks to my partner Matt, for his love and companionship, and our cat, Fred, who got me through many late nights. iv Dedicated to Miss Boggs v Table of Contents List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. vii Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Section One: Dr. Jean Sutherland Boggs: A Biography ................................................................................................................................. 10 Section Two: “Miss National Gallery ’66”: Femininity and (Self-)Portraits of Women .................................................................................. 16 Section Three: “The Best-Looking Director the Gallery Has Ever Had”: The Press and Boggs’s Role in the Public Eye ............................................................................ 23 Section Four: “The Woman They Didn’t Want”: Leading and Hiring Staff at the National Gallery ........................................................................ 33 Section Five: “Typical Gal, She Wants a Home”: A Permanent Building for a Growing Collection and a Changing Museum ............................... 42 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 51 Figures ......................................................................................................................................... 56 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 73 Appendix A (Timeline of Events) ................................................................................................ 81 Appendix B (Interview with Diana Nemiroff) ............................................................................. 83 Appendix C (Interview with Charles Hill) ................................................................................... 93 vi List of Figures Fig. 1: Judy Chicago. The Dinner Party, 1974-79. Ceramic, porcelain, textile. 14.63m x 14.63m. The Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002. http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party. Fig. 2: Jean Sutherland Boggs in interview at the National Gallery of Canada. Photographs by Doug Bartlett. June 29, 1966. National Gallery of Canada Archives, #074591. Folder: Boggs, Jean Sutherland 1/4 (CWTL). Fig. 3: Jean Sutherland Boggs at a press conference at the National Gallery of Canada. Photographs by Doug Bartlett. June 29, 1966. National Gallery of Canada Archives, #074590. Folder: Boggs, Jean Sutherland 1/4 (CWTL). Fig. 4: Jean Sutherland Boggs in interview at the National Gallery of Canada. Photograph by Doug Bartlett. June 29, 1966. National Gallery of Canada Archives, #074591. Folder: Boggs, Jean Sutherland 1/4 (CWTL). Fig. 5: Jean Sutherland Boggs holding flowers, posing with a van Gogh painting, for exhibition at the National Library and Archives, 1969, in “Floral Magic.” Ottawa Journal (Ottawa, ON), March 13, 1969. Photograph by Malak. National Gallery of Canada Archives. File: Boggs, Jean Sutherland, 1922-. Folder 2. Book 3. Documentation 1968-1969 (DOC/CWLT). Fig. 6: Jean Sutherland Boggs holding flowers, posing with a van Gogh painting, for exhibition at the National Library and Archives, 1969, in “Fusion of Nature and Art.” Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa, ON), March 14, 1969. Citizen-UPI staff photo. National Gallery of Canada Archives. File: Boggs, Jean Sutherland, 1922-. Folder 2. Book 3. Documentation 1968-1969 (DOC/CWLT). Fig. 7: Caricature of Jean Sutherland Boggs and Judy LaMarsh, in “U.S. gets da Vinci: Canadian bid fails.” Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa, ON), Feb. 21, 1967. National Gallery of Canada Archives. Folder: NGC General 1967 (DOC/NGC). Book: National Gallery of Canada, General File, 1967 (DOC/NGC). Fig. 8: Jean Sutherland Boggs with Judy LaMarsh and “Wheel Man” at the opening of “Sculpture in the Sixties,” 1968, in LaMarsh, Judy. Judy LaMarsh: Memoirs of a Bird in a Gilded Cage. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1970. n.p. Fig. 9: Jean Sutherland Boggs holds up a slide with Dr. J. B. Sanders and Roger Gardiner, in “Degas’ fascination for women discussed by art director.” London Evening Press (London, ON), February 16, 1968. National Gallery of Canada Archives. File: Boggs, Jean Sutherland, 1922-. Folder 2. Book 3. Documentation 1968-1969 (DOC/CWLT). Fig. 10: Jean Sutherland Boggs with her staff, in Michener, Wendy. “Jean Boggs: The Woman They Didn’t Want.” Chatelaine, June 1968, 30. National Gallery