Mr. Reid was instrumental in bringing the work of homegrown artists to the forefront of this country’s collective consciousness, starting with a landmark show featuring the Group of Seven
In 1992, within the glossy, highbrow pages of Canadian Art magazine, Dennis Reid, historian, author and a highly respected curator was reported to possess “a gracious eye.” Author of the phrase, Sarah Milroy, now chief curator of the McMichael Canadian Collection in Kleinburg, Ont., says it referred to Mr. Reid’s courtly manner of discussing art and weighing things. “There was always something so even-handed and respectful about the way he approached works of art.
“Dennis had a steel-trap knowledge of Canadian art, of the comings and goings of artists, of their travels, their key dates, the ups and downs of their lives, who they were in contact with, that kind of old-fashioned scholarship,” Ms. Milroy said. “If the knowledge wasn’t at his fingertips he knew where to find it.”
In 1958, the family moved to Oshawa, where Dennis, a tall, handsome, somewhat shy student finished high school. He was keen on becoming an archeologist, and intended to enroll in a University of Toronto program called art and archeology but the program changed its name and focus to fine art. Archeology’s loss became Canadian art’s gain.
Newly married to Alison, a classmate and one of the artsy gang he chummed around with, he was hired as an assistant curator at the National Gallery of Canada. At the time, the gallery was preparing for a 1970 exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Group of Seven. During a television interview, Mr. Reid said he was fortunate that Jean Boggs, the gallery’s director, was fed-up with hearing about the collective. She hired Mr.
While still at the AGO, Mr. Reid continued to lecture on art history at the University of Toronto and supervise PhD students. It was a useful fallback position for him when, without warning, he was required to resign from the gallery. Many in the art scene were aghast. The reason for his departure was never made public.
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