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Caroline Dured Lee lost a long battle with cancer January 12, 2003 but she fought courageously until the very end. She was born November 27, 1934. She is survived by her husband of 12 years, Robert Ellis of Albuquerque; daughters, Holly Adams, Erin Adams and their husbands of Albuquerque; grandchildren, Sage Simpson, Max Corney and Kit Corney. Her surviving sisters and brother are Linda Morsmann of Santa Fe, Melissa Lawson of Fort Worth and Willis Lee of Santa Fe. Caroline was an instrumental part of the Taos art scene recently helping her husband renovate the Harwood Museum of Art. They had recently relocated to Albuquerque from Taos just before her death. Born in Dallas, she grew up in Fort Worth and lived for 25 years in San Antonio where she became very involved in the art world in which she wore almost every hat from artist to gallery owner to university level teacher to lecturer to writer to fine art appraiser. Throughout the 1970's, Lee, an accomplished painter in her own right endeavored to bring the work of local fiber, ceramic and metal crafts artists to San Antonians while simultaneously developing and refining her own sense of artistic quality. In 1980 she opened Objects Gallery which was soon to become one of the leading venues in the state of Texas for the exhibition of fine art, crafts, and folk art. Collectors came from around the state to appreciate the result of her incomparable"eye". Then in 1985, she opened the first gallery of folk art in San Antonio. The work of now famous Mexican folk artists were brought to the attention of the American public in an appropriate setting. While in Taos, she sat on the national board of the American Society of Appraisers and became a well respected appraiser of 20th Century fine art. She and her husband had both been honored for their cultural contributions to the arts in Taos. Lee was of course far more than a gallery owner or even an artist and mother, she possessed an incomparable flair and passion for the indispensable accoutrements of life; high fashion, art, good food and close friends. She lived every moment to the fullest and loved life, traveling many places and partook of life with her heart and mind wide open. In lieu of flowers, she asked that donations be sent to the Children's Art Program at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos. A Memorial will be held at the French Mortuary at 7121 Wyoming at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, January 16, 2003 with a reception afterwards. Memorials in Taos and San Antonio will be scheduled in the near future. All will miss her dearly. French Mortuary 7121 Wyoming Blvd. NE 823-9400
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