Remembering Alex Colville

Alex Colville P.C., C.C., O.N.S.

Alex Colville, one of Canada’s most distinguished and celebrated artists and Chancellor of Acadia University between 1981 and 1991, passed away peacefully at his home in Wolfville on July 16.

On Wednesday, July 24 at 10:30 a.m., the Manning Memorial Chapel on the Acadia campus will hold the funeral service for our friend and former Chancellor. Due to limited (and reserved) seating in the Chapel, Acadia University’s Convocation Hall will be open at 9:30 a.m. for those who wish to attend the webcast of the funeral. The funeral will also be webcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. A link to the site will be available from the Acadia homepage - www.acadiau.ca.

Colville’s contribution to Canadian culture began when he joined the Canadian Army in 1942 as a war artist, and he was commissioned in 1965 to design coins commemorating Canada’s Centenary featuring wild creatures such as a rabbit and a mackeral. His works hang in collections and galleries around the world, and he received numerous honours and awards for his work including the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, the Molson Prize from the Canada Council and the Won Dunn International Award from the Beaverbrook Gallery in Fredericton. In 1973, Alex and Rhoda Colville moved to Wolfville, where they established themselves as very active and well-loved members of the community.

Beyond his influence across Canada and internationally, Alex Colville made a significant contribution to Acadia. He was awarded an Honorary Degree in 1975 and in 1981 was appointed Acadia’s third Chancellor, a post he would hold until 1991. He continued to be an honorary member of Acadia’s Board of Governors thereafter. The entire town was saddened in December, 2012 when Rhoda passed away at home. The Colvilles had been married for more than 70 years.

“Our entire community is feeling a sense of loss,” says Ray Ivany, President of Acadia. “While Alex Colville was connected directly to Acadia through his term as Chancellor, he and Rhoda were part of the fabric of Wolfville and it will be hard for many of us to think of our community without them. The legacy left by Alex through his art and his many achievements will serve as reminders to all of us of the importance of place and the people around us in our everyday lives. We extend our sincerest sympathies to the Colville family, sons Graham and Charles and daughter Ann, as well as Alex’s many close friends.”

“I met the Colvilles shortly after they moved to Wolfville in 1973 and ended up forming a lifelong friendship with these two remarkable people,” says Dr. James R.C. Perkin, Acadia’s 12^th President and author of a 1995 book on Colville entitled Ordinary Magic. “Alex was very generous with his time while Chancellor and often met with students who sought him out for his wisdom and guidance. He was a very straightforward speaker with an ability to say very little, but to cut directly to the heart of any matter.

“Alex believed profoundly that life is comprised mainly of ordinary things and, so, thought it was important to recognize and to celebrate it in his work,” says Perkin. “He was an extremely disciplined person who believed that the one non-negotiable aspect of our lives is time. He said something to me once that I’ve never forgotten. He said that if you are lucky in your lifetime you might earn a million dollars or if you are unlucky you might lose it, but still have the chance to earn it back again. However, if you lose ten minutes, they are gone forever. He brought this discipline to his work at Acadia and his obvious comfort in a university environment and his ease at home in Wolfville made him a wonderful Chancellor and ambassador for our institution.”

Acadia’s Art Gallery contains more than 35 of Colville’s works. The Colville collection has been assembled over many years through donations and contributions made by individual alumni and class gifts. Acadia’s collection includes serigraphs such as “Crow with Spoon” and “Fête Champêtre” but also a rare oil-on-board work “Light Fog” that was donated to Acadia by the Colville family.

To send your condolences on Dr. Colville’s passing, please visit http://www.whitefamilyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/80945 or visit the Acadia Art Gallery to share your memories in a sketchbook that will be available until August 4.

In anticipation of the large number of family, friends and guests who will be in attendance, Acadia employees and students are asked not to park in the Festival Theatre, Upper SUB, Lower SUB, and Wheelock Hall parking lots. Guests with mobility challenges will be accommodated in the University Hall front loop. Safety and Security staff will be on hand to assist in directing traffic. If you need accommodation, please contact the department at 585-1103.