It is with great sorrow that we announce the sad passing of our beloved colleague and friend Dr. Carolyn Muir on 22 December 2020. Carolyn had a long battle with cancer which she fought with great bravery. She is survived by her husband Jeff, and sons Chris and David.

Carolyn joined HKU in 1979 when our art history programme was just beginning, and she was instrumental in making it the success that it is today. A dedicated scholar of Northern European Renaissance art, she published numerous articles and a lavishly illustrated book, Saintly Brides and Bridegrooms: The Mystic Marriage in Northern Renaissance Art (Brepols, 2012). She brought her love for art history into the classroom and it is not an overstatement to say that almost every Fine Arts’ student who walked through our doors, until her retirement in 2013, would have sat in her famous ARTH1001 Introduction to Western Art class. In recognition of her excellence as a teacher, the University appointed her as a University Teaching Fellow in 1997.

She was a generous, conscientious and caring colleague, serving as our Head of Department for 11 years (1989-1999). Even after retirement, she remained the steady rock consistently supporting us through all our changes. She will be much missed.

There will be a memorial to commemorate her life and work and the Department will be setting up a fund in her memory. We will be sending out details at a later date and hope you can join us to share memories and to say farewell to this important member of our Department of Fine Arts/Art History family.

With warmest regards,

Dr. Yeewan Koon 官綺雲博士

Chairperson