June 6, 1950 – November 19, 2021
Bev Morton was born and raised in Edmonton and moved to Winnipeg in 1967. She fought a long and courageous battle with cancer.
Bev established the Wayne Arthur Gallery in memory of her late husband who passed in 1999. Her second husband, Robert MacLellan, passed in 2020. Bev was a mentor to many young and emerging Manitoba artists. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Sandra Morton Weizman and Gabe Weizman of Calgary, and their two children, Aviva and Benji.
Bev will be fondly remembered by the artists and craftspeople of Manitoba and her many friends.
In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to the Manitoba Society of Artists for the new annual “Bev Morton – Wayne Arthur Memorial Award” that will be an Open Juried Competition and Exhibition for mixed media work.
6 thoughts on “Estelle Beverly Morton”
Bev and her gallery created a community of artists and artisans who collaboratively supported one another and gave Winnipeg an eclectic and exciting opportunity to experience art and the artists who created it first hand. The Wayne Arthur Gallery was always a welcoming place for the public and artists alike and Bev and her special space will be sorely missed by all. It is wonderful to hear that Bev and Wayne will both be memorialized by the Manitoba Society of Artists through a special juried exhibition in their honour. May all those who knew Bev find comfort through their circle of family and friends as well as through fond memories of Bev and her very special gallery.
With heartfelt sympathy – Erika Uustalu-Nicholson
Bev, I truly I wish I had a chance to say good-bye. Please let me take this opportunity.
I admire how you didn’t complain about the pain you lived with, even when asked.
I appreciate each time you intentionally added “please” to your requests of me, and thanked me for what was essentially doing my job. I appreciated the respect granted to me when you inquired about my willingness to take on tasks outside my job description; thank you. It was an honour to have opportunity to come alongside you as you bravely took on each day. I hope my attitude and efforts conveyed to you that you were more than merely a job to me.
I cherish our last real conversation in consideration of your numbered days and the way you were thinking of Sandi and your friends.
I offer my sincere condolances to Sandi, Gabe, Aviva, Benji and to Bev’s myriad of generous, thoughtful, self-sacrificing friends. I met many of you, and heard stories about many others of you. You touched me by the way you cared for Bev – how she loved you!!! -Rosemarie
Bev and I met during our turbulent university years, and remained friends over the decades. Although we were not often in touch in recent years, I knew of her illness and marvelled at her ability to keep going despite it. In fact I greatly admire how she not only found a successful direction in life but through it became an important and much loved force in Manitoba’s artistic community.
While I took photos of Bev with Wayne and then with Robert, over the years, the attached from 1988, is my favourite. They had taken us to see his “Caring Hands” sculpture (I think that’s the title) at Deer Lodge, and Wayne had explained that it was modelled on his and Bev’s hands.
Charlie Sise joins me in our fond memories of Bev and in extending our condolences to Sandra and her family.
Here is my 1988 photo of Bev and Wayne.
I miss Bev so very much. Of course there are many people who are experiencing grief and are feeling lost without her presence. Shortly after visiting the gallery she invited me to her birthday celebration and very soon after that she showed an interest in having one of my water colour paintings holding a spot in her gallery. We enjoyed so many wonderful conversations about art and story telling and when I was in the city I attended the annual poetry contests and Christmas group shows. I always made the observation that Bev loved what she was doing and when she was experiencing the tough situation of cancer she never complained and she treated us ( her artist friends) in such a positive manner.
Dear Rosemarie:
I am touched by your kind words of farewell to Bev. I was sorry we hadn’t had a chance to touch base when I was in Winnipeg but your message really says it all. Thank you for all the help and care you gave Bev in her final months. She worked in her beloved gallery until a day and a half before she passed away — exactly as she would have wanted it!
Best wishes,
Sandi