The family of Robert Ellsworth Shaw Jr. sadly announces his passing
on October 16, 2023, in Owings Mills, Md. He is survived by his wife,
Nancy Meigs, whom he married at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont in
1985. They resided in Shelburne until last year when symptoms of Lewy
body dementia and Parkinson’s disease emerged, necessitating his
retirement to Maryland.
Bob was born in New
Haven, Conn., on July 20, 1951, to Ruth and Robert Shaw, and grew up
in nearby Simsbury. From a young age, he had a passion for literature
and music and played the guitar as a solo artist and in bands
throughout high school, during his years at Middlebury College and
following graduation in 1973.
He settled in
Shelburne with his wife, Nancy, in 1986, where they raised two
daughters. He was an avid nature lover. He enjoyed nurturing his
garden and watching birds that visited his many bird baths and bird
feeders.
In addition to his
professional accomplishments, Bob was an avid music collector, with a
library of over 2,000 albums, spanning folk, rock, blues, jazz, pop
and classical genres.
He began his career
at the Shelburne Museum as a writer and later became a curator. In
1994 he embarked on a career as a writer and independent curator. He
was a critically acclaimed author, curator and art historian who
wrote and lectured extensively on many aspects of American folk art.
Notably, he was the founding editor of Americana Insights, a
nonprofit publication dedicated to the study of Americana and folk
art, founded by Jane Katcher and David Schorsch in 2021.
Bob took immense
pride in his final book, American Weathervanes: The Art of the
Winds, published in 2021 in conjunction with a groundbreaking
exhibition he curated with Emelie Gevalt at the American Folk Art
Museum in New York. This comprehensive study has since become the
definitive resource on weathervanes.
Bob’s passing
leaves a void in the hearts of his family, friends and colleagues
within the museum and antiques community. In lieu of flowers, the
family kindly requests that donations be made in Bob’s memory to
Gilchrist Cares (gilchristcares.org/donate/) of Towson, Md.
He is survived by
his beloved wife, Nancy, and their two cherished daughters, Emma
(Eric) and Georgia; his sister Ellen and her children, Atticus and
Elektra (Kent); his brother, David (Clay); and his sister Sarah
(Robert) and daughter, Laura (Cruz); and a grandnephew, Noel.
This article appears in Nov 1-7, 2023.