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National Gallery of Canada

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: National Gallery of Canada
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National art museum founded in Ottawa in 1880. Its holdings include extensive collections of Canadian art as well as important European works. Its nucleus was formed with the donation of diploma works by members of the Royal Canadian Academy. In 1911 the drawing collection was formed (1913 – 24) with important works by Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt, and the photography collection was begun in 1967. A new building opened in 1988; the Canadian Centre for the Visual Arts opened in 1991 and a multimedia learning centre in 1996. The museum circulates several hundred exhibitions to other cities throughout the country each year.

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Wikipedia: National Gallery of Canada
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National Gallery of Canada
Established 1988
Location Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Type art galleries
Director Marc Mayer
Website www.gallery.ca/

The National Gallery of Canada (French: Musée des beaux arts du Canada), located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.[1]

The Gallery is housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was designed by Moshe Safdie and opened in 1988.[2] The Gallery's former director Jean Sutherland Boggs was chosen especially by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to oversee construction of the national gallery and museums.[3]

Marc Mayer was named the museum's director, succeeding Pierre Théberge, on January 19, 2009.[4]

Contents

History

View of the National Gallery of Canada from Parliament Hill

The Gallery was first formed in 1880 by Canada's Governor General John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, and, in 1882, moved into its first home on Parliament Hill in the same building as the Supreme Court.[2] In 1911 the Gallery moved to the Victoria Memorial Museum, now the home of the Canadian Museum of Nature. In 1913 the first National Gallery Act was passed outlining the Gallery's mandate and resources.[2] In 1962 the Gallery moved to a rather nondescript office building on Elgin Street. Adjacent to the British High Commission, the building now serves as office space for various governments departments, especially the Department of National Defence. It moved into its current building on Sussex Drive in 1988, beside Nepean Point.

In 1985 the newly created Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP), formerly the Stills Photography Division of the National Film Board of Canada, was affiliated to the National Gallery. The CMCP's mandate, collection and staff moved to its new location in 1992, at 1 Rideau Canal, next to the Château Laurier. In 1998 the CMCP's administration was amalgamated to that of the National Gallery's.

In 2000, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada chose the National Gallery as one of the top 500 buildings produced in Canada during the last millennium.[5]

Collection

The interior of National Gallery of Canada

The Gallery has a large and varied collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and photographs. Although its focus is on Canadian art, it holds works by many noted European artists. It has a strong contemporary art collection with some of Andy Warhol's most famous works.[6] In 1990 the Gallery bought Barnett Newman's Voice of Fire for $1.8 million, causing a storm of controversy as the painting was no more than three strips of paint. Since that time its value has appreciated sharply, however. In 2005 the Gallery acquired a painting by Italian Renaissance painter Francesco Salviati for $4.5 million.[7]

Also in 2005 a sculpture of a giant spider, Louise Bourgeois's Maman, was installed in front of the Gallery.[8]

The Canadian collection holds works by Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven as well as Emily Carr and Alex Colville.[9]

The Gallery organizes its own exhibits which travel across Canada and beyond, and hosts shows from around the world, often co-sponsored with other national art galleries and museums.[10][11]

The Gallery's collection has been built up through purchase and donations. Much of the collection was donated, most notable are the British paintings donated by former Governor General Vincent Massey and that of the Southam family.

Noted works

Maman stands outside the building's main entrance
See also: Category:Collections of the National Gallery of Canada

The largest work in the Gallery is the entire interior of the Rideau Street Chapel, the ornate chapel of a demolished girls' school, which also features Cardiff's Forty-Part Motet.[12]

National Gallery of Canada

Affiliations

The Museum is affiliated with: CMA, Ontario Association of Art Galleries, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.

References

  1. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia
  2. ^ a b c National Gallery of Canada: Gallery History
  3. ^ "Concordia university to award five honorary degrees at five ceremonies for 3,300 graduating students". Concordia University. http://mediarelations.concordia.ca/pressreleases/archives/2000/06/concordia_university_to_award_1.php. 
  4. ^ "Mayer confirmed as gallery director", The Globe and Mail, December 8, 2008.
  5. ^ Cook, Marcia (11 May 2000). "Cultural consequence". Ottawa Citizen (Canwest). http://www.ty-a.ca/Citizen/top500.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
  6. ^ National Gallery of Canada: Contemporary Art
  7. ^ National Gallery acquires rare Renaissance masterpiece by Salviati, 15 August 2005
  8. ^ National Gallery of Canada is latest major museum to welcome Louise Bourgeois' Maman, 9 May 2005
  9. ^ National Gallery of Canada: Canadian & Aboriginal Art
  10. ^ National Gallery of Canada: Past Exhibitions
  11. ^ National Gallery of Canada: Travelling Exhibitions
  12. ^ Artwork Page: Forty-Part Motet

External links

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Coordinates: 45°25′46″N 75°41′54″W / 45.429434°N 75.698386°W / 45.429434; -75.698386

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