Credentials
Pilar Shephard, MA/BFA, holds several art degrees and certificates, and has an extensive experience working in the art field — as an art educator, museum curator, art promoter, gallery owner and manager, and over thirty years of experience in arts and antiques appraisal, and art consulting. Pilar has published several articles on the topic of art and art education, and helped develop art education materials and programs. Pilar is a member of several cultural and art organizations in Canada and USA, and she is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Pilar was a co-founder of the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC). During her time with OSAC she helped establish an educational program for docents in small museums and galleries, and organize a tour which delivered forty exhibitions with educational programs to rural Saskatchewan. This program had become a model for art promotion in other Canadian provinces, and other countries.
Pilar's experience includes teaching Art History at the University of Quebec in Montreal and the University of Saskatchewan; working as a curator at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey in Summit, NJ; working in the Education Department and as an Assistant Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art (NYC), where she coordinated artist forums and was in charge of international films; helping attract audiences at the Museum of the City of New York; working as an art appraiser with various evaluators in New York; promoting art through grants and educational materials in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Prince Edward Island (PEI); adjudicating grants for artists in Ontario, Saskatchewan, PEI and Newfoundlandand; and setting up two exhibitions of Maritime art supported by the PEI Government, one in Japan and one in Taiwan.
Pilar Shephard holds a Certificate in Art Appraisal from New York University (only 15 students graduated from the program), and she was a member of the American Appraisers Association. She has been working as an art appraiser for insurances, museum collections, estates, donations, government agencies, art dealers and individuals. Her clients include Logistec Corporation, Concordia University (private collection), the Confederation Centre of the Arts Art Gallery, Wanda Wyatt estate, MacNutt collection, PAMA Museum and Archives in Ontario, Morton Barmish estate, Mr Terriaca collection, and Mr Brad Levine collection among many others. Pilar will do house calls if requested.
After having owned Pilar Shephard Art Gallery in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for twenty-three years, Pilar decided to sell her gallery business, and dedicated herself to working full time as an art appraiser and consultant. The Gallery had represented major Canadian artists, including masters of Inuit art, as well as artists from around the world. Pilar Shephard Art Gallery was featured in several magazines, including Heritage, Condé Nast travel magazine, Vie des Arts, and Canadian House and Home.
Pilar's education credentials:
- Master of Arts — L'Université du Québec à Montréal
- Bachelor of Fine Arts — Concordia University
- Certificate of Education — University of Montreal
- Certificate in Museology — New York University
- Certificate in Appraisal Studies — New York University
- Certificate in Audio Visual Pedagogy — University of Montreal
- Certificate in Art Management — Banff School of Fine Arts
