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Concordia and the arts community from coast to coast were shocked to hear of the death last weekend of Jean McEwen, who had a heart attack while shovelling snow outside his home on the Plateau.
McEwen, who taught part-time in the Faculty of Fine Arts from 1983 until 1993, was one of Canada's most distinguished artists, and only last month had received Quebec's highest artistic honour, the Prix du Québec Paul-Emile Borduas.
McEwen was strongly influenced both by Borduas, Jean-Paul Riopelle and the Quebec Automatistes, and by the abstract expressionists he met in Paris and New York in the early 1950s. However, he soon developed his own style, including white-on-white paintings.
At the time of his death, he was painting as actively as ever in his distinctive abstract style, and Montreal's Galérie Simon Blais has been exhibiting 40 of his recent works.
Concordia's Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery are showing several of McEwen's paintings. A book of condolences is available there for signing. It will be forwarded to the McEwen family, to whom the Faculty of Fine Arts and the rest of the Concordia community extend their condolences.
His many friends were sorry to hear about the death on January 8 of Bob MacPherson, after a long illness. Bob started working here in 1960 and retired from the Physical Resources staff only last year. He was a kind and gentle man who had many friends at the University. We extend to his family our deepest sympathies.
Concordia lost a good friend on December 17 when Irving Levitt (centre, front) passed away in his 88th year. Over the past
10 years, 136 students have benefited from his generosity as a donor to the University. Just last October, he was
photographed with the latest group of scholarship recipients at the Undergraduate Awards ceremony. Sitting with him in the
photo are his son Allan and daughter Judi. To them, and to Mrs. Levitt, we extend our sincere condolences.
The Department of Studio Arts, the Faculty of Fine Arts, the International Students Office and all his friends at Concordia were shocked and saddened at the sudden death on December 6 of Raphael Imer.
Raphael died as the result of a traffic accident at the Vendôme Métro station. An international student from Switzerland, he was in his third year of studies in Studio Arts.
A memorial service was held in the VAV Gallery on Tuesday, December 15. The Concordia community wishes to express their deep sympathy to his mother, father and brother in Switzerland.
