Hello Everyone,

Many of you knew Phil Lind, a long-serving Trustee, from his decades of involvement at the AGO. Phil loved chatting to Curators and Protection Services Officers alike. He loved visiting to the AGO for board committee meetings, and was often in attendance at exhibition openings. He encountered many staff at such activities and always shared a smile and a kind word.

Sadly, Phil passed away yesterday. The message below was sent to our board earlier this morning. I thought you would appreciate hearing this news, too. We will miss Phil deeply.

Stephan

Dear Board of Trustees,

We are sharing some very sad news, as some of you might have read or heard, Phil Lind passed away yesterday.

Phil was a trustee for 18 years and, in light of his extraordinary contributions to the AGO, was invited to become a Trustee Emeritus at our last board meeting. He served on various board committees and contributed enormous amounts of wisdom and guidance over significant periods of change at the AGO.

Phil was a giant in the business world and worked hand-in-hand with the Rogers family to build one of the most successful companies in Canada. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2002 and inducted into the U.S. Cable Hall of Fame in 2012.

He was also very much a family man and would often bring his children, Sarah and Jed, and grandchildren to activities at the AGO. We all extend our deep sympathies to them and his long-time partner, Ellen Roland, a dear friend of the AGO.

At the AGO, Phil was particularly passionate about chairing the Modern & Contemporary Committee. During his tenure, the committee acquired several outstanding contemporary works including Adrián Villar Rojas, Today We Reboot the Planet, 2013; Tacita Dean, Antigone, 2018; and Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, OPERA (QM.15), 2016.

Phil loved art – he loved learning, he loved ideas, he loved supporting artists, indeed art formed a major aspect of his life. Phil was incredibly passionate about his involvement at the AGO and made many, many important and lasting gifts. Some of them include:

– Stage III and Transformation AGO campaign gifts that resulted in the naming of the Anne Lind Artist-in-Residence Room and the Philip B. Lind Galleries

– Donations of art by Canadian artists Robert Fones, Iain Baxter & Stan Douglas, as well as significant works by Vija Celmins

– Exhibition support of many shows at the AGO reflecting his deep love for photography, including Scott McFarland: Snow, Shacks, Streets, Shrubs (2014), Thomas Ruff: Object Relations (2016), Mark Lewis: Canada (2017), Vija Celmins: To Fix the Image in Memory (2019), Diane Arbus: Photographs, 1956–1971 (2020), and most recently, Wolfgang Tillmans: to look without fear (2023).

– In recent years, Phil generously supported the commission of Brian Jungen’s Couch Monster: Sadzěʔ yaaghęhch’ill, 2022, and the acquisition of the Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs. 

No doubt all of us hold special memories of encounters with Phil throughout the years. Phil always applied his mischievous charisma, sharp mind, and quick wit to every conversation. He was an amazing person and we will miss him.

We will share more information about a service for Phil once it is made public.

Rupert and Stephan