Dr. Marian Fowler is a celebrated biographer renowned for her intimate portraits of individualistic women of style and substance. She herself collects vintage costume jewellery and has written about such fashion icons as Marlene Dietrich, Wallis Simpson, and Jackie Kennedy. Although she has many passions, Marian is inspired in particular by the ROM’s outstanding international collection of textiles which illustrates extensive transformations in design and manufacturing over 3,000 years.
“When I was three years old I was already a ‘fashion freak,’” she says, laughing. “I think it’s in your genes because my grandmother was the same way. If you asked me 10 years from now what a friend wore to an event, I would remember.”
In 2001, Marian gave her first charitable gift annuity to the ROM for the exhibition Unveiling the Textile & Costume Collection. This gift enabled her to make an outright donation and guarantee income payments for life. For Dr. Fowler, a charitable gift annuity satisfied her desire to support something personally meaningful and secure her monthly income at a fixed rate comparable to many commercial investments.
Marian takes great pleasure in sharing her love of art and culture and in 2007 gave a second charitable gift annuity to benefit the ROM. Her legacy is the enjoyment her gifts will bring to future generation of ROM visitors.
Interested in joining the Currelly Society and creating a legacy of wonder and discovery? Please contact Janice Correa at jbcorrea@rom.on.ca or 416.586.5578.
The ROM mourns the loss of dedicated supporter Marian Fowler in 2020. Marian’s lifelong passion for fashion, art and culture and her philanthropy at the ROM with two charitable gift annuities in her lifetime ensured a very successful textiles exhibition plus an important addition to the European collection. Her legacy to the ROM will benefit generations to come. If you would like to donate to the ROM in Marian's memory you can do so here.