Stacey, Robert, 1949-2007 : Robert Stacey was born in Toronto in 1949 and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1972. For over three decades, he has worked as an art historian, editor, and curator. Stacey's interests and expertise lie in the areas of Canadian historical and contemporary art, graphic design and cultural geography. His extensive research on historical illustrator and muralist C.W. Jefferys resulted in a travelling retrospective mounted by the Agnes Etherington Centre in 1976, a 1985 catalogue and travelling exhibition entitled "Western Sunlight" mounted by the Mendel Art Gallery, and a 1985 National Gallery of Canada Canadian Artists Series publication. His fondness for the field of applied graphics and design was made manifest through several exhibitions and catalogues. In 1979-80, an exhibition he curated entitled "The Canadian Poster Book 100 Years of the Poster in Canada" was toured by the Art Gallery of Ontario's Extension Services in 1979-80. His interest in the design work of J.E.H. MacDonald resulted in the 1996 publication "J.E.H. MacDonald, designer: an anthology of graphic design, illustration and lettering. In 1997, he published "Canadian Bookplates" and, in 1999, wrote on the Advertising and Design Club of Canada.
Stacey has also applied his curatorial skills to more wide-spread subject matter. He was responsible for the exhibition and publication "The Hand Holding the Brush: Self-portraits by Canadian Artists" organized in 1983 by the London Regional Art Gallery. Historical artists on whom Stacey has written include Sir Daniel Wilson (1816-1892), Frances Anne Hopkins (1836-1919), Wyndham Lewis (1882-1957). In 1997, he contributed to the catalogue for an Ottawa Art Gallery exhibition with Jim Burant on Peleg Franklin Brownell (1857-1946). His research in more contemporary practice is found in his writings on individual artists Hamish Fulton, Alan Harding MacKay, Glenn Priestly and David Buchan. Stacey has also applied his curatorial skills to more wide-spread artistic arenas. In 1988, with Liz Wylie, he wrote "Eightytwenty: 100 years of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design". In 2002, he contributed to a catalogue and travelling exhibition on the Qu'Appelle River Valley. For several decades as well, Stacey's reviews have appeared in numerous art publications.
Robert Stacey died in 2007. A memorial was held for his friends, family, and admirers at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto.
