Signy Stefansson Eaton

Signy Hildur Eaton (; July 1, 1913 – September 10, 1992) was a Canadian socialite, art collector and philanthropist. She was married to John David Eaton, of the Eaton family of Toronto.

Biography Signy Hildur Stefansson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Icelandic immigrants Fridrik Stefansson and Anna Olson. Her father emigrated from Iceland in 1876 and settled in New Iceland, Manitoba. He was a publisher and part-owner of Lögberg, an Icelandic language newspaper. Her maternal grandfather was a member of the Alþingi.

While studying art at the University of Manitoba and working as a receptionist at a dentist's office, she met John David Eaton, grandson of Timothy Eaton, founder of the eponymous T. Eaton Company Limited, who was working at the iconic store on Portage Avenue. Her future mother-in-law, Lady Eaton, a noted society doyenne, organized a reception to introduce Signy to Toronto society at Ardwold, the family's Toronto home. In 1933, Lady Eaton presented her to King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace. The Toronto Telegram named her one of the best dressed women in Toronto. Signy filled their Forest Hill home with works by Pablo Picasso, Maurice Utrillo, Raoul Dufy, Thelma van Alstyne, Marc Chagall, Georges Rouault, Jean-Paul Riopelle and Roloff Beny. She was active in many philanthropic causes particularly the Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum and the Hospital for Sick Children.

In 1959, in recognition of her philanthropy and interest in her ancestry, the Icelandic government named her a Knight of the Order of the Falcon, Iceland's only order of chivalry.