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About Walter Carsen
- Walter Carsen (August 14, 1912 – October 8, 2012) was a German-born Canadian businessman and philanthropist, mainly known for his support of the arts.He was born into a Jewish family in Cologne.
- When he was six, his father died; Carsen was adopted by his stepfather, a lawyer.
- He went on to study law.
- In 1938, he moved to London to avoid persecution by the Nazis; his parents fled to the Netherlands but were later sent to their deaths at Auschwitz.
- Although a refugee, he was arrested as an enemy alien by the British and sent to a prison camp in Canada.
- Carsen avoided talking about this time in his life.
- In 1943, he got a job grinding optical lenses in Toronto.
- Later that year, he married Clementine Nahm.
- He volunteered to join the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, at which time he adopted the surname Carsen; his original surname is not known. In 1945, he started a distribution business for cameras and optical equipment.
- In 1949, he became the Canadian distributor for Olympus.
- The company became the largest independent supplier in its field in Canada.
- Carsen sold the business in 1962 but continued to be involved with real estate, property development and other investments.Carsen and his wife had two children: Johanni and Robert.
- In 1975, he separated from his wife; the couple never divorced.Carsen was a major support of the National Ballet of Canada, the Shaw Festival and the Art Gallery of Ontario.
- He contributed to the ballet's Walter Carsen Centre and the gallery's Walter Carsen Reading Room, which were named in his honour.
- He also helped finance the ballet's Dancer Transition Resource Centre and the National Ballet School's artist-in-residence program.
- He supported 12 new productions for the ballet and its 1991 For the Glory of Mozart dance festival.
- Carsen also supported art galleries in Hamilton, Windsor, St.
- Catharines and Oshawa and the Canadian Opera Company.
- In 2001, he established the Canada Council for the Arts' Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts.
- He also established the Walter Carsen Fund for the Homeless through the United Way Toronto and York Region.In 1993, he was awarded the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award.
- In 2002, he received the International Society for the Performing Arts Foundation Angel Award.
- In 2000, he received the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts.
- Carsend was named an officer in the Order of Canada in 2002.He died in Toronto soon after his 100th birthday.
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