When a university friend suggested she become an AGO volunteer, Gallery Guide Mary Henderson thought: “I don’t have an art background, but I do have the time, and I bet I’d learn things.” 

That was 1968 — 46 years ago. 

There have been many changes since then. The Gallery has gone through several transformations, and so has Mary’s own role. She began with the Junior Women’s Committee, moved to the Women’s Committee proper at age 35, then simultaneously worked in Art Rental and became chair of that Group and, finally, in 1979, became a docent (as Gallery Guides were then called).

What hasn’t changed is Mary’s own lively curiosity about art, and her delight in sharing what she learns. “We research, we absorb, we engage, we respond to the visitors. It’s a very interactive role, and that’s one of the things that keep me here.”

She adds: “Art is so exciting. None of it stands alone, or stands still.” She illustrates her point with a few enthusiastic comments about Elevated, the current exhibition in the Contemporary Tower. “At first you think, what is all this? Then several days later, you notice something in the world around you and make a connection between that reality and the art you saw in the Tower.”

Then Mary excuses herself. It is time to prepare for her afternoon Dot in front of Camille Pissarro’s Pont Boieldieu in Rouen, Damp Weather (1896).