A RETROSPECTIVE of work by the late artist and educator Gwen Cann is to go on display at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art next month.A collection of her paintings, mosaics and weaving will be on exhibit in the Museum's West Gallery. Mrs. Cann died last August at the age of 78, having shared her enthusiasm for the arts with her students at Northlands Primary School and the former Bishop Spencer School as well as inmates at the island's prisons — Casemates and the Prison Farm.

She was born in Ohio to the late Dr. Braxton and Reber Simpkins Cann, but moved to the island just before 1960, according to her niece Conchita Ming.

"Gwen came to Bermuda, her father's birthplace, in 1959 where she married the late Walter N.H. Robinson, a well-known lawyer and politician," Mrs. Ming said. "It was a second marriage for both. She taught at Northlands Primary School and became the first and only headmistress of the Bishop Spencer School, which is now closed. She was passionate about exposing the students to all forms of art. She taught them macramé, puppetry and weaving."

Mrs. Cann studied at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina and at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

"Gwen was a lifelong student," Mrs. Ming continued, "taking puppetry classes in Hawaii and weaving classes in Kansas, sculpting classes with Bylee Lang. She spun and dyed wool from local sheep which she then used in her art pieces. And she became an origami master. When she was in her 'origami phase', Gwen was forever folding paper wherever she went. Her art exudes in mosaics, weavings, watercolours, oils and puppetry."

She added that Mrs. Cann's efforts to introduce her students to the arts did not go unnoticed by other teachers. Especially noted was her gift for writing, directing and composing music for "amazing plays".

"She was well-known as a talented and accomplished artist, a teacher, a world traveller and a mentor who was also an active member of Bermuda's community of artists," Mrs. Ming said.

"She was a former member of the Bermuda Society of Arts, exhibiting her work at the City Hall gallery several times.

"Gwen also loved the theatre. She performed in numerous plays and pantomimes with the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society and (the former) Studio Foundation. Gwen taught art at Casemates Prison and at the Prison Farm, holding exhibits of the students' work, and (she) also held art classes in her home."

A Retrospective of the Diverse Art of Gwen Cann, Artist & Educator, will display at Masterworks from March 2 through March 15. For more information visit www.bermudamasterworks.com or telephone 236-295>