| Helen Duffy: curator, consultant, editor, artist, mother and friend…….. by Jean Johnson | | Print | |
HELEN MARIE DUFFY 1923-2008 “I hope that we both continue to look closely at grasses and the small buds, flowers, leaves and petals we carry during walks in the country so they stay in our memory” Born in Switzerland, Helen studied art in England, where she met Bob Duffy, a Canadian journalist, and press attaché with the Canadian High Commission in London. They moved to Toronto where Bob continued his work, and Helen became involved in the local art scene. I met Helen in the 1970s at the Merton Gallery in Toronto. I admired her watercolor floral paintings, and as curator, invited Helen to exhibit her work which was accurate botanically and wonderfully alive. Our friendship grew through our passion for nature, our interpretation of it, and our love of the arts. Her works are in many collections, including the City of Toronto (1980). Letter writing nurtured our friendship when Helen and Bob returned to England where they took up residence at “Bramcote’, a cottage on the south shore at Lyme Regis, Dorset. “I want to go out for a long walk since the sun has just emerged from the clouds and, after last night’s gale, the tide comes in like huge bales of Bruxelles lace.’ In 1995 Helen wrote: “Come June, we’ll meet again at Crystal Lake for talk, swim, eat, drink, read, dream, sleep, walk, draw or paint, count falling stars, row the boat, listen to crickets and once in a while, a bird, not necessarily in this order.” “Well over twenty years have passed since we floated in our new tin boat on the lake, looking at the stars, listening to frogs and paying no attention to the ravenous black flies.” “Gardens love to be left alone for a while In order to let some plants go wild, rampant and imposing. Germaine Greer stated in a recent article that Gardening has replaced sex and is much more enjoyable. She has a point”. “A friend gave me a Canadian Art subscription for Christmas, starting with the Group of 7 special issue. I love keeping in touch with Canadian painting and never warmed exactly to British art.”
In June 1996 when I visited Bob and Helen, we explored the coast for fossils, discussed the art scene internationally and enjoyed the village, their garden, and the ocean. That year, Helen returned to Switzerland, her first visit since she and Bob moved to Canada. “It was good to stay in familiar surroundings and places I hadn’t seen since then and to perfect my accent”. In Ontario, Crystal Lake and their cottage were the Duffy’s favorite summer place. As always, her letters are brimming with anecdotes about plant life and the cottage: “Black flies are out in full strength. I try to avoid hitting lady bugs that run across the page as I write.” “The garden is awash with color, I am painting daily - and weeding the summer’s alternative bounty, the second round of dandelions.” “Bob’s vegetables have suddenly developed and we are ‘living off the land at the moment.” “If I wouldn’t know that Crystal Lake still waits, practically unchanged for our forthcoming visit, I’d break out in tears or throw a tantrum”.
I’ve included recollections from friends and colleagues: “I went by Helen and Bob’s old house on Montclair today to refresh my memory of her. What a perfectly amazing house with a view down the street, so wonderfully situated and that to me was Helen. Helen was always just who she was no matter what environment she was in. This notion of being embedded is very strong when I think of Helen - she was deeply in this world and she ever so gently pushed everyone around her to come with her on her journey. She had an ability to make everyone around her want to be better, to be more, to think harder, and to use more of their imagination, to draw from their inner resources to truly be with her and her nimble and remarkable mind. She and my mother would talk more richly about art than anyone I experienced my mother speaking with! She and my husband Jim (Lahey) disappeared into another dimension when speaking about painting Again she had that remarkable ability to make someone want to be better to be with her! Pym Buitenhuis, Friend Surely ‘Textiles into 3-D’ brought us together. It is her enthusiasm in my work and life that established our friendship. She promoted my work whenever she could. When she moved back from England, I visited her several times in her apartment. Usually we had lunch with Bob. Afterwards she and I would take a walk in the ravine near her apartment, when she pointed out the unusual features. Unfortunately the last couple of time she was not able to take the walk because of her heart condition” Kai Chan, Artist “I first met Helen in late 1973 or early 1974. I started working for the AGO Extension Services and took over the coordination of the exhibition ‘Textiles into 3D’ when Helen acted as guest curator. It was presented at YorkUniversity in the summer of 97. I was pretty green about textile art and artists, so Helen really became a great mentor as well as a friend. Later in the 70’s we worked together on The Laurentians: Painters in a Landscape which circulated provincially and was also presented at the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris). . Helen was also hotly in demand through the AGO’s Artists with their Work (AWTW) (now abandoned) program, Mela Constantinidi, Director, the Ottawa Art Gallery. My strongest recollection of Helen occurred when I was working at the Ontario Crafts Council in the mind-1980s. My niece had given me a toilet paper roll, cotton ball and pipe cleaner rabbit that she made at day care. I placed it proudly on my desk, but no one commented on it. No one, that is, until Helen came in (probably to talk about our plan to re-design the gallery). As soon as she saw it, she understood the confusion it would cause my visitors. She totally approved; for her, questioning was very important. Alan Elder, Curator, Canadian Museum of Civilization Canadian Art had a piece by Helen Duffy about an environmental artist which was one of the most perceptive commentaries I had read. It was not a long piece, just very thought provoking. The Tom Thomson Gallery was preparing a traveling exhibition of my painted reliefs and after discussions with the curator we agreed to approach Helen. Helen agreed and visited my studio to discuss the work. Hugely sensitive to what I was trying to do, Helen asked many questions and contemplated everything at great length. I then started to see my work through her eyes which was a very real treat as people seldom have the ability to communicate what they experience. Also the visual experience is not always easy to put into words but Helen had a wonderful ability to see, experience deeply and to write about it in a language that was relevant and appropriate Stephen Hogbin, Artist Helen Duffy was a very special person. I had seen her work at a friend’s house and had never forgotten the beauty of her drawings. When my husband had a special birthday some thirteen years ago, I decided to buy one for him. We were all in London at the time and we agreed to meet at his office so he could make the selection. Helen arrived with her survey of the flora on the months of the year inspired by plants in her garden in Lyme Regis. My husband selected “January” as some of his favorite British plants were in that watercolor. In retrospect, it seems so unfortunate that her talents were not truly appreciated and her work rarely exhibited. The striking thing for me is that she was trying to capture the essence of plants, not as botanical specimen or as a decorative touch for the living room. To this end, she held them in her hand as a way of examining the life in them. Her control of the medium is extraordinary with a crispness not normally associated with watercolors Susan Jefferies, Curator My first experience with Helen was when she was acting as the consultant for Textile into 3D. I remember her phoning just before Christmas telling me I had been accepted into the exhibition so that I could tell my parents the news when I was home for Christmas. That must have been December 1972. Those were exciting days in the fibre world. Helen was so good at supporting other artists that one could easily overlook that she did her own artwork. She was always so positive in her outlook and a supporter of my activities. I always enjoyed talking/meeting with Helen. She was such a wonderful character. David H. Kaye, Artist and Owner, David Kaye Gallery Helen was a remarkable person who led an amazing life. She was curious and imaginative, creative and thoughtful, energetic and engaging; she was as amiably provocative as anyone you could find. She was an accomplished artist herself and many of her friends were artists. As a curator and artistic advisor, she contributed significantly to numerous exhibitions, writing for catalogues, choosing works of art, conferring with colleagues with her bright intelligence and sharp perceptions. She had an encyclopaedic sense of history, a memory filled with humorous and telling anecdotes, a penchant for inviting unusual and innovative people into the life she shared with her husband Bob for nearly sixty years. Helen spoke four languages, had a capacious repertoire of amusing stories, and loved to recommend references, analogies, parallels, and contrasts that most others would miss. She made friends easily, made people laugh easily, and encouraged talented individuals to be the best they could be. She will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by those whose life she touched in some ineffable and indelible way. David Silcox Friend HELEN MARIE DUFFY 1923-2008 Jean Johnson C.M. friend and admirer of Helen Duffy This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Photo credits: Helen Duffy 1977credited to Prudence Emery provided by E.P. Taylor Research Library & Archives Helen Duffy at at Helen and Bob’s cottage at Crystal Lake: taken by Don MacMillan provided to Jean Johnson for this article Katherine Dickerson On Helen Duffy As to Helen and the Textiles into 3-D show, it would be an understatement to say that it was a major turning point in my career as a Textile Artist. Up to that time I had been weaving to support myself and family. Most of my work was more commercial in nature and smaller in scale. But I had ideas that I wanted to realise. Helen came to visit and encouraged me to talk about these ideas and was very supportive. On top of that the honorarium that was given for the show was generous enough to be able to buy the materials I needed to do a piece of that scale. Even better, they gave a payment prior to the show which really directly supported the purchase of materials and the doing of a larger more experimental work.The addition of Textile 3-D to the World Craft Conference in Toronto in 1974 was very important. I attended the conference and was able to speak with people about my Tree Stump. The influences of those contacts lasted for years. Helen had a way of drawing out the best in people. She really knew how to listen and would then ask provocative questions that challenged the direction of the conversation. She also knew a tremendous amount about what was happening in Textile, Especially in Europe. I had just moved from New York to Chicago and then to the West Coast of Vancouver Island. It was a joy to be able to talk to someone who knew of the same work and people that I knew of. At that time the weaving on Vancouver Island was quite traditional and I was missing stimuli. It was a joy working with her and it enriched my life greatly. It means a great deal that you are undertaking this project as a memorial to her. I do not think she got the recognition that she deserved during her life. David Silcox Helen was a remarkable person who led an amazing life. She was curious and imaginative, creative and thoughtful, energetic and engaging; she was as amiably provocative as anyone you could find. She was an accomplished artist herself and many of her friends were artists. As a curator and artistic advisor, she contributed significantly to numerous exhibitions, writing for catalogues, choosing works of art, conferring with colleagues with her bright intelligence and sharp perceptions. She had an encyclopaedic sense of history, a memory filled with humorous and telling anecdotes, a penchant for inviting unusual and innovative people into the life she shared with her husband Bob for nearly sixty years. Helen spoke four languages, had a capacious repertoire of amusing stories, and loved to recommend references, analogies, parallels, and contrasts that most others would miss. She made friends easily, made people laugh easily, and encouraged talented individuals to be the best they could be. She will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by those whose life she touched in some ineffable and indelible way.
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