Doris Dohrenwend – or Dorie as she preferred to be called – had a warm, gentle, and humble approach with colleagues and friends. As an art historian and curator in ROM’s Far Eastern Department from 1967 to 1996, she left a remarkable legacy at the Museum – both through her work and through a generous gift in her estate.
Dorie understood the value of giving back to the community. Over the years, she donated many items from her own private collection to the Museum. These gifts ranged from traditional Japanese ukiyo-e and modern and contemporary Japanese prints; from Chinese, Korean and Japanese ceramics, to jades and lacquer. She also had an incredible ability to find treasures in antique shops and local auctions – many of which can still be seen on display in the Museum today.
Dorie’s generosity and passion for East Asian art also inspired others. Her friendship with collector Dr. Herman Herzog Levy played an essential role in his decision to make a landmark bequest to the Far Eastern Department through the Bishop White Committee. This generous gift enabled Dorie and her colleague, Patty Proctor, to fill critical gaps in the Museum’s East Asian collections through the strategic acquisition of several rare and important pieces.
In 2000, Dorie augmented her already considerable contributions with a gift to the Museum in her will and became a member of the Currelly Legacy Society (CLS). After attending CLS-hosted sessions on Wills & Estate Planning, she further added to her support by purchasing a charitable gift annuity. When she passed away in 2019, her bequest resulted in a significant contribution to the Bishop White East Asian Endowment Fund in support of the Museum’s East Asian collections, in addition to the donation of her private collection to the Museum.
ROM was Dorie’s home away from home and her colleagues and friends were her "Canadian" family. Her estate gift ensures that her support and love for East Asian art at ROM will continue to make an impact beyond her lifetime.
To learn more about gift planning at the ROM, please contact Janice Correa at 416.586.5578 or janicec@rom.on.ca.