Art collector Ion Vorres dies at the age of 91
Acclaimed art collector Ion Vorres died on Friday at the age of 91, leaving behind the chief oeuvre of his life, the Vorres Museum in Paiania, eastern Attica.
A native of Messinia in the southern Peloponnese, Vorres fought in World War II with the OSS American intelligence agency. He later gained Canadian citizenship after studying at the University of Toronto.
In Canada, he worked as a journalist and columnist, mainly promoting Greek culture and heritage.
He organized his first exhibition in Toronto in 1955 and opened the Vorres Museum in 1983 with a 6,000-item collection covering 4,000 years of Greek history.
Vorres was awarded the Order of Canada in 2009 and bestowed the Greek title of Grand Commander of the Order of Honor in 2014.
The Canadian Embassy in Athens on Friday extended its condolences to his family, describing Vorres as a “visionary” and “champion of the arts.”
