About Willock and Sax gallery

The Willock and Sax Gallery celebrates the arts and the natural grandeur of the environment. We strive to cultivate aesthetic appreciation and concern for our world by offering an extraordinary collection of fine art. The Willock & Sax Gallery carries a diverse selection of Canadian historical and contemporary art, with a focus on fine Alberta artists.

The Willock & Sax Gallery is owned and operated by Tom Willock and Susan Sax-Willock. Collectively they bring to the business over 50 years of experience from the cultural sector, commercial enterprises, and academic studies, including Director of a Public Museum and Art Gallery, Director of a Provincial Arts Service Organization for Visual Art, and academic background in the history of art, design, and visual culture. The business was established in 1998.

Tom Willock

Tom was raised in Alberta and a graduate of the University of Alberta. Tom did graduate work in Zoogeography (The Ecology and Zoogeography of Fishes in the Missouri (Milk River) Drainage of Alberta) at Carleton University (1969), Ottawa.

Tom is a respected black and white photographer. He wrote A Prairie Coulee (Lone Pine Press, 1991), a book on the natural history of a Southern Alberta coulee, which features his photography. He was a private museum consultant and a founding member of the Waterton Natural History Association. Tom is a former President of Museums Alberta (he also served on its Editorial Board and as its Treasurer). He was a founding Trustee of The Heritage Community Foundation.

Tom started his professional career at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Ottawa. After which, he conducted Wildlife Impact Studies, was a Sessional Instructor in Wildlands Conservation at the Lethbridge Community College and a Technician for the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Lethbridge. He was a professional wildlife photographer and commercial photographer (including aerial and industrial photography). As a natural history photojournalist his landscape and wildlife photographs have been widely published in both Europe and North America. Tom was Director of the Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery for 20 years. 291 Film Company, Regina, Saskatchewan produced a film, entitled Waterton Lakes National Park, about Tom in 2005-6. The film is part of their Landscape as Muse Series for SCN and Bravo TV.

Susan Sax-Willock

Susan was raised in Alberta and a graduate of the University of Alberta. Susan later completed a graduate degree in the History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture through the University of Alberta (National Potency: Ritual and Action Code in United States Marine Corps Recruiting Posters of the Vietnam Era) in 2004.

Susan was a Sessional Instructor in Art History at Augustana Faculty, University of Alberta. She worked in commercial and public galleries, acted as an editor and writer for Museums Review, and wrote a regular article on visual arts for Legacy, Alberta's Heritage Magazine. Susan was editor of the Alberta Women's Archives Association newsletter, she wrote and illustrated two children's activity books, and worked as a commercial artist. Her fine art (primarily watercolor and mixed media) is in private collections across Canada. She was the founding Executive Director of Visual Arts Alberta Association (a provincial organization for the visual arts). Susan was a founding member and Chair of the Alberta Cultural Human Resources Steering Committee (now the Alberta Cultural Action Network - ACAN), which deals with issues relating to the cultural labour force in Alberta. Susan is a member of the Banff Culture Days Committee. She travelled and worked extensively across Canada, in England, the United States, Europe, and with Canada World Youth to Colombia, S.A.

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