Remember this guy? The figure-skater from the 1970's with the slinky one-piece outfits and inventive jumps and choreography. The Canadian who took men's figure-skating to a new level of artistry and expressiveness with his full-body slides across the ice.
I had heard he retired to San Miguel de Allende, a well-known mecca for artists in Mexico. Toller Cranston had been a painter for as long as he had been a skater and was an established professional artist in the community.
I was studying Spanish in 2006 in the nearby city of Guanajuato, so one weekend we hopped on a bus to lovely San Miguel where, as a fellow Canadian interested in art, I gathered up my courage and gave Mr. Cranston a call. I had seen his number on a poster in one of the small art galleries in the town.
An hour later we were standing in his living room amid velvet furnishings, heavy curtains, gold-framed whimsical paintings and objets d'art of all kinds. The elaborate decoration was reminiscent of his theatrical skating style.
It was a friendly enough visit. We chatted briefly, but he quickly suspected we weren't serious art collectors.
When we mentioned Swift Current, he remembered a local doctor we knew, Dr. Young, who had bought several paintings. Dave knew the man's daughter who had been a star figure-skater in our town.
Toller Cranston died in his home in 2015 of an apparent heart attack. He was 65 years old.
His impressive property in the centre of the Mexican city was listed for almost 3 million dollars. His art work and collections would have added significantly to that amount.
Sadly, Toller Cranston's name was in the news again this spring with allegations of fraud and mishandling of his estate in an on-going legal battle among his siblings.
Toller Cranston, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, 2006. Another memory in my Artist Series, where my interest in art intersects with my interest in travel.
