Belle Shenkman

Belle Shenkman CM (1928-1995) was a Ukrainian-born, London-based Canadian arts patron and fundraiser.

Belle Shenkman was born as Bell Gubler was born on June 24, 1928 in Kiev, Ukraine. She emigrated to Canada with her parents when she was three months old.

Shenkman organized the first European performance by the National Ballet of Canada, held at the London Coliseum in 1972. She became a member of the Order of Canada in 1979.

Shenkman raised £30,000 for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1982. As a result, it performed at Sadler's Wells in London.

Shenkman, then Miss Gubler, married Harold Shenkman in 1948. They had a son, William, and a daughter, Dasha, and later divorced. She married Desmond Smith in 1979; he died in 1991.

Shenkman died on March 11, 1995 in London, U.K.. The Belle Shenkman Room at the Royal Academy of Arts is named in her memory.