Acclaimed art collector Ion Vorres passed away on February 27 at the age of 91. A native of Messinia (South Peloponnese), Vorres moved to Canada where he studied, worked and promoted Greek heritage, gaining Canadian citizenship. His life’s achievement was the Vorres Museum of Folk and Contemporary Art that he opened in Athens in 1983, a complex of buildings and gardens, as well as a collection of 6,000 items of historic and artistic value, all part of the Museum which the Vorres family donated to the Greek state as a cultural foundation.

Vorres collected contemporary art, furniture, artefacts, textiles and historic objects from around Greece so as to preserve cultural heritage. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 2009 and bestowed the Greek title of Grand Commander of the Order of Honor in 2014. Farewell, Ion Vorres.