Of all the artists I’ve worked with over the last forty-eight years, my relationship with Rita Letendre was truly special – her warmth, energy, and artistic drive inspired me for so long that I sometimes forget that she’s no longer with us.  November had always been an important month because Rita’s birthday was on the 1st and we’d always celebrate together, either by having an exhibition of her works at my gallery or a lovely get-together at her home.   When this time of year comes around, I can’t help but miss her which is why I wanted to take this time, just after the fourth anniversary of her passing on November 20, 2025, to remember her with a special tributary exhibition.

My fondest memories of Rita involve the last three three incredible projects we had the privilege of working on together.  In 2014, when the Toronto Transit Commission approached Rita to oversee the restoration of her incredible skylight Joy at Glencairn Subway Station, she could not have been more excited.  Despite her advanced age, Rita remained deeply involved in the process, closely examining colour choices and asking many questions about how different tones and shading would interact with different materials when sunlight passed through.  It was such a privilege to be a fly on the wall, soaking in Rita’s unstoppable enthusiasm and witnessing her perfectionism in action.

By 2018, Rita’s health began to decline and she could no longer travel but that didn’t stop the world from wanting to recognize her.  When the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis chose her for their prestigious contemporary art fellowship, she asked if I would go in her place to accept the award.  When I arrived at the opening, a crowd of people immediately approached me to ask about Rita and why they had never before heard about such an amazing modernist painter.  I was so honoured to be among Rita’s work and to listen to so many people gush about her incredible colour sense and the vibrant energy displayed in in her razor sharp hard-edge works that seemed to reach for the stars.  

Then, in 2020, the Evergreen Brickworks commissioned artist Tannis Nielsen to recreate Rita’s awe-inspiring mural Sunrise, a mural 60 by 60 feet originally installed on the outside wall of the Neill-Wycik Building at Ryerson University, near the intersection of Carlton and Jarvis Streets in 1971.  This project was by far my biggest challenge because Rita could no longer actively participate in the process and so it took me quite some time to decide on the right location for what would be come Sunrise II.  I remember spending days with the curators surveying the Brickworks compound, trying to find a spot with the necessary gravitas.  Eventually we found the perfect location and it’s been so gratifying to experience the on-going commitment to keeping Rita’s work alive for future generations to enjoy.

Even though Rita is no longer with us, her legacy remains – in public art, in museums around the world and in the homes of the many collectors who have supported and cherished her.  Rita has left us with so many gifts and achievements that it gives me great pleasure to know that she will never be forgotten.  She was so unique and our partnership was one the great highlights of my career.