Doreen Elizabeth Walker was born in Vancouver in 1920. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of British Columbia in 1942, and, upon returning to school, was awarded a Master of Arts degree by the university in 1969. The title of her Graduate thesis was "The Treatment of Nature in Canadian Art Since the Time of the Group of Seven". She subsequently became a senior instructor in the Fine Arts Department at U.B.C. and worked there until her retirement in 1985. Walker compiled and edited over 200 letters between the triumvirate of Nan Cheney, Humphrey Toms, and the noted Canadian artist Emily Carr, producing the book Dear Nan: Letters to Emily Carr, Nan Cheney, and Humphrey Toms in 1990. Her relationship with Cheney, dating back to at least 1980, was certainly more than professional, and correspondence and photographs illustrate the shared friendship.
From the description of Doreen Walker fonds. 1606-1990, predominant 1920-1985. (University of British Columbia Library). WorldCat record id: 606455404
