Sue Warren - Class of 1981
"Mrs. Aldous was wonderful. She instilled in me a real love of art." No surprise, then, that when Sue left school, she went into an art history program.
When Sue Warren was a girl, her grandmother gave her a scrap of painted cloth brought back from Egypt in 1924, saying it was part of the fabric that had once wrapped the body of a mummy. In 1985, Sue enrolled in the Master’s of Art Conservation Program at Queen’s University, and this was the first object that she undertook to conserve.
Sue’s interest in art dates back to Elmwood when she attended art history classes under Barbara Aldous. "Mrs. Aldous was wonderful. She instilled in me a real love of art." No surprise, then, that when Sue left school, she went into an art history program.
That is where her "epiphany" occurred in the form of a lecture by Henry Hodges, one of Canada’s earliest conservators, who had roots – like most of the pioneers – in archeology. "There I was," Sue recalls, "face to face with a man who had worked with all the things that Mrs. Aldous had talked about in class."
Sue applied for Queen’s conservation program, bringing with her a portfolio that demonstrated, among other things, her considerable manual dexterity. For years, she had made and sold dollhouse miniatures. After graduating in 1987, Sue was hired by the Museum of Science and Technology, one of the most forward-looking of our national museum in terms of conservation. She is still there.
Sue’s work spans a fantastic variety of objects, but she has specialized in horse-drawn vehicles. Currently, she is working on an early 20th century brougham, wine-red in color and a perfect example of a century-old coach, with lamps, tasseled curtains and upholstery all intact. "I love these vehicles," she says "they are composite artifacts made of metals, wood and fabric; they are both functional and decorative."
Not many people spend a whole career with their first employer, but Sue is not inclined to move. In her work, she says, "Every project is still an adventure."
