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Susan Whitney was born in Dublin, Ireland. When she was three years old her
family emigrated to Palgrave, Ontario, and eventually Regina, where she attended
undergraduate classes at the University. She also took undergraduate classes in Fine
Arts at Sir George Williams in Montreal before spending seven years in Ireland. On her
return to Regina, she worked with a public relations firm before becoming director of the
Kesik Gallery. She left the Kesik gallery in 1979 to open a private commercial
gallery.
The Susan Whitney Gallery Ltd. opened November 22nd, 1979, in an old two-storey
house on the edge of downtown Regina. Susan Whitney, who is now sole owner, was
President of a group of shareholders. Currently located at 2220 Lorne Street, the
mandate of the gallery is to exhibit and sell contemporary art including painting,
sculpture, tapestry, photography, furniture and Canadian folk art. It has participated in
numerous international art fairs and has represented many prominent Saskatchewan
and Western artists, such as Arthur McKay and Ron Bloore of the Regina Five,
ceramicists Joe Fafard, Victor Cicansky and David Thauberger, and folk artists Dmytro
Stryjek and W.C. McCargar.
Notable exhibitions at the gallery have included the first group show of early
Saskatchewan pottery ever assembled, which was bought by the provincial
government. Another exhibition entitled Made in Saskatchewan brought together
examples of early Saskatchewan furniture, hooked rugs, samplers, tramp art, and
contemporary folk art.
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